Effects of Different Exercise Training on Physical Fitness and Technical Skills in Handball Players. A Systematic Review.

Akbar, S, Kim Geok, S, Bashir, M, Jazaily Bin Mohd, NN, Luo, S, and He, S. Effects of different exercise training on physical fitness and technical skills in handball players. A systematic review. J Strength Cond Res 38(11): e695-e705, 2024-This review aimed to assess the effects of exercise training on handball players' performance. A thorough search was conducted in 5 online databases (ProQuest, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost (SPORTDiscus), as well as on Google Scholar and other gray literature references starting on April 11, 2022. The methodological quality of the included research was evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database scale. This systematic review includes 16 studies. Eight studies received "excellent" ratings (≥6 points), 5 received "good" ratings (5 points), and 3 received "moderate" ratings (4 points). The findings showed that the most frequently examined performance factors in exercise training intervention strategies with handball players were balance ( n = 5), agility ( n = 8), speed ( n = 9), and jumping performance ( n = 10). Muscular strength ( n = 4), shooting and dribbling skill ( n = 3), and muscular endurance ( n = 4) were the second most frequently investigated performance factors. Regarding speed and agility, exercise training considerably improved the physical fitness of handball players. However, evidence related to muscular strength, shooting ability, and dribbling skills was limited. To achieve the optimum standard, handball players must have strong physical and physiological qualities. Meanwhile, no evidence was found related to the impacts of exercise training on power, endurance, flexibility, body composition, cardiovascular fitness, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Regarding limitations, there is a need for more research with solid evidence to determine the impacts of exercise training interventions on athletes' performance in handball.