The researchers quantified and differentiated between physiological and biomechanical loads with two aims:
First, to identify and describe the physiological and biomechanical load associated with various tasks used in basketball training.
Second, to propose a practical application of these tasks within the framework of a typical training week.
Study Overview
18 elite male basketball players from the highest regional division of U18 Spanish basketball.
Data collection over two consecutive seasons (2018-2019 and 2019-2020).
Players had to complete 50% of training sessions in both seasons to be included and 80% of the training session.
Players wore a device (Catapult) to quantify the physiological and biomechanical demands of the training.
Drills were classified based on their specificity from 5 to 0.
Physiological Load
Physiological loads focus on the work-energy relationship as players move around the court.
The following 5 variables were considered physiological:
Distance (m; meters) per minute covered (TD; total distance)
Distance per minute standing-walking
Distance per minute jogging
Distance per minute running
Distance per minute high-speed running
Biomechanical Load
Biomechanical loads focus on the external forces exerted on players through their movements, including the impact of gravity, ground reaction forces, resistance from their equipment (e.g., pads in American football), and interactions with opponents.
These loads also include the stresses on muscles, tendons, bones, and joints during physical activities, influencing performance and injury risk.
The following 5 variables were considered biomechanical:
Accelerations per minute
Decelerations per minute
Explosive efforts per minute
PlayerLoad per minute
Jumps per minute
What were the results?
The main results can be seen graphically in Figure 1.
In summary, tasks that cover more space (full court vs. half court) and have fewer defenders (3vs3, 2vs2, 11 counterattacks, 5v0, 4v0, and 3v0) have a higher physiological load, while tasks without defense tend to have lower biomechanical loads.
However, those tasks with less space and more defenders (3v3v3, 4v4v4, 5v5, and 4v4) have a higher biomechanical load.
This is a really cool figure!
It could be concluded that the presence of defenders is related to higher biomechanical loads.
However, although 1v0 and 2v0 tasks are less demanding, they present a specific biomechanical load (as they are generally linked to technical work and, therefore, accumulate a high number of jumps/min).
What does this mean?
Classifying Training Drills
Basketball training drills can be classified by their physical orientation, specificity, and intensity.
Exercises fundamentally of biomechanical orientation → 1v1 full court, 3v3v3, 4v4v4v, and 5v5v5.
Exercises fundamentally of physiological orientation → 3v0 full court, 4v0 full court, and 5v5v5.
High-intensity mixed-orientation drills → official match, 4v4 full court, 3v3 full court, 5v5 full court, counterattack of 11, and 2v2 full court.
Training Sessions
These classifications can be used to program different training sessions.
Training Weeks
These sessions can be used to program different training weeks.
Coach's Takeaway
Drills with more space and fewer defenders impose higher physiological loads, and drills with less space and more defenders increase the biomechanical load.
Higher biomechanical load drills should be placed at the beginning of the session, after a warm-up, and drills with a physiological orientation toward the end.
Manipulating space and the presence of defenders allows for adjusting task intensity to meet specific objectives, optimizing performance, and avoiding overtraining.
Coaches should be conscious of these demands and program training sessions and training weeks that optimize performance and recovery.
