Effect of Rest Period Duration between Sets of Repeated Sprint Skating Ability Test on the Skating Ability of Ice Hockey Players

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 20; p. 10591
• Main Authors: Baron, Jakub, Gupta, Subir, Bieniec, Anna, Klich, Grzegorz, Gabrys, Tomasz, Swinarew, Andrzej Szymon, Svatora, Karel, Stanula, Arkadiusz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 09-10-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Ability tests; Blood levels; Body composition; Heart rate; Hockey; Ice hockey; Lactic acid; Physical fitness; Players; Skating; Team sports; Warm up (exercise)
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182010591

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of two different rest periods, 2 min and 3 min, between consecutive sets of a repeated sprint skating ability (RSSA) test, on the skating ability of ice hockey players. Two RSSA tests, RSSA-2 and RSSA-3, were assessed on 24 ice hockey players. In RSSA-2, six sets of 3 × 80 m sprint skating, with 2 min passive recovery between two consecutive sets was allowed. In RSSA-3, the recovery period between the sets was 3 min. Average speed, average heart rate (HRaver), peak heart rate (HRpeak), blood lactate concentration ([BLa]), and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured in both RSSA-2 and RSSA-3 tests. In all the sets, except set 1, the average speed of the subjects was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in RSSA-3 than the respective set in RSSA-2. Average HR and RPE were higher in RSSA-2 than RSSA-3 in most of the sets. For any given set, no difference in HRpeak was noted between RSSA-2 and RSSA-3. Post-sprint (Set 6) [BLa] was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in RSSA-3 than RSSA-2. This study concludes that the 3 min rest period is more beneficial than the 2 min rest period, for (1) increasing skating speed and (2) reducing overall cardiac workload and perceived fatigue.