Energetics of Table Tennis and Table Tennis Specific ...

“Energetics of Table Tennis and Table Tennis Specific Exercise Testing” by Zagatto AM, de Mello Leite JV, Papoti M, Beneke R International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance © 2016 Human Kinetics, Inc.

Note. This article will be published in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. The article appears here in its accepted, peer-reviewed form, as it was provided by the submitting author. It has not been copyedited, proofread, or formatted by the publisher.

Section: Original Investigation Article Title: Energetics of Table Tennis and Table Tennis Specific Exercise Testing Authors: Alessandro Moura Zagatto1, Jorge Vieira de Mello Leite2. Marcelo Papoti3, and Ralph Beneke4 Affiliations: 1Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Human Performance (LAFIDE) – Faculty of Sciences – Univ Estadual Paulista-UNESP– Department of Physical Education, Bauru-SP, Brazil. 2Postgraduate Program in Health and Development in the Midwest Region, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campo Grande, Brazil. 3School of Physical Education and Sports of Ribeirao Preto, São Paulo University, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil. 4Dept. of Medicine, Training and Health, Inst. of Sport Science and Motology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany. Journal: International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance Acceptance Date: January 25, 2016 ©2016 Human Kinetics, Inc.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2015-0746


Energetics of Table Tennis and Table Tennis specific Exercise Testing Running Head: Energetics of Table Tennis

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Submission Type: Original Investigation Alessandro Moura Zagatto1, Jorge Vieira de Mello Leite2. Marcelo Papoti3, Ralph Beneke4 Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Human Performance (LAFIDE) – Faculty of Sciences – Univ Estadual Paulista-UNESP– Department of Physical Education, Bauru-SP, Brazil. 2 Postgraduate Program in Health and Development in the Midwest Region, Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campo Grande, Brazil 3 School of Physical Education and Sports of Ribeirao Preto, São Paulo University, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil 4 Dept. of Medicine, Training and Health, Inst. of Sport Science and Motology, PhilippsUniversity Marburg, Marburg, Germany 1

Laboratory where the research was conducted: Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Human Performance (LAFIDE) – Faculty of Sciences – Univ Estadual Paulista-UNESP– Department of Physical Education, , Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, 14-01, Vargem Limpa, CEP 17033-360 Bauru-SP, Brazil. Corresponding Author: Alessandro Moura Zagatto. Laboratory of Exercise Physiology and Human Performance (LAFIDE) – Faculty of Sciences – Univ Estadual Paulista-UNESP– Department of Physical Education, Av. Eng. Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube, 14-01, Vargem Limpa, CEP 17033-360 Bauru-SP, Brazil. Phone/Fax: +55 14 31036082. E-mail:[email protected]

Abstract Word Count: 220 words Text-Only Word Count: 3406 words Number of Figures and Tables: 1 Figure and 6 Tables


Abstract Purpose: The metabolic profile of high performance table tennis is unknown. We tested the hypotheses that the metabolic profile of table tennis is dominantly aerobic, anaerobic energy is related to the accumulated duration and intensity of rallies, and that activity and metabolic profile are interrelated with the individual fitness profile determined via table tennis specific tests. Methods: Eleven male experienced table tennis players (22±3 years; 77.6±18.9 kg; and Downloaded by Australian Catholic University on 09/23/16, Volume 0, Article Number 0

177.1±8.1 cm) underwent two simulated table tennis matches to analyze aerobic (WOXID), anaerobic glycolytic (WBLC) energy and phosphocreatine break down (WPCr), a table tennis specific graded exercise test to measure ventilatory threshold and peak oxygen uptake (VO2PEAK/GTX) and an exhaustive supramaximal table tennis effort to determine MAOD. Results: WOXID, WBLC and WPCr corresponded to 96.5±1.7%, 1.0±0.7% and 2.5±1.4%, respectively. The WOXID was interrelated with rally duration (r=.81) and number of shots per rally (r=.77), whereas the match intensity was correlated with WPCr (r=.62) and maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (r=.58). Conclusion: The metabolic profile of table tennis is predominantly aerobic and interrelated with the individual fitness profile determined via table tennis specific tests. Table tennis specific VO2PEAK/GTX and ventilatory threshold determine the average oxygen uptake and overall WOXID, whilst table tennis specific maximal accumulated oxygen deficit indicates the ability to utilize and sustain slightly higher blood lactate concentration and WBLC during the match. Key words: Oxygen Uptake, Lactate, Phosphocreatine, Racket-Sports


Introduction Table tennis is assumed to depend primarily on anaerobic energy during high intensity activities of short duration and dominantly oxidative phosphorylation throughout longer lasting low intensity and recovering phases of the match.1 These assumptions are based on activity profiles of official table tennis matches with rallies of 3.4±1.7s resulting in postmatch blood lactate concentrations (BLC) of 1.8±0.7 mmol/L.1 Unfortunately, at official Downloaded by Australian Catholic University on 09/23/16, Volume 0, Article Number 0

matches respiratory gases cannot be measured. Therefore, fractional contributions of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism remain a matter of speculation. Oxygen uptake has been measured previously in junior players aged 14 years simulating five-set matches where the winner was required to win 3 sets.2 However, the latter is not valid for high performance adults playing seven sets and when the winner is required to win 4 sets. Therefore the metabolic profile of high performance table tennis is unknown. Consequently, in table tennis training conditioning exercises are based more on an educated guess rather than on robust evidence of the energetic demand of match performance. In addition, it is also not known whether the metabolic profile of table tennis is interrelated with players´ table tennis specific fitness. The latter can be measured in terms of ventilatory threshold (VT2/GTX), peak oxygen uptake (VO2PEAK/GTX), and maximal accumulated deficit of oxygen (MAOD) in table tennis tests.3-5 Therefore, the present study aimed 1) to estimate the metabolic profile of a simulated table tennis match and 2) to assess the relationship of components of metabolic energetic demand with VT2/GTX, intensity at VO2PEAK/GTX (iVO2PEAK/GTX), and MAOD determined in specific table tennis tests. Thereby we tested the hypotheses that a) the metabolic profile of


table tennis is dominantly aerobic, b) anaerobic energy is related to the accumulated duration and intensity of rallies, and that c) activity and metabolic profile are interrelated with the individual fitness profile determined via table tennis specific tests. Methods Subjects


Eleven male nationally ranked table tennis players (22±3 years; 77.6±18.9 kg; and 177.1±8.1 cm) participated in the study. The subjects had been engaged in regular systematic table tennis training for at least five years (10.4±3.0 years), with a weekly frequency of five training days per week, 2-3 hours per day. The athletes were familiarized with the experimental procedures and equipment, and were instructed to maintain eating habits, i.e., the same individual light meal, at least 2 hours prior to the tests. In addition, they were instructed to maintain hydration habits and to avoid additional sessions of hard physical activity, alcohol or caffeine ingestion during the experimental period. All procedures were approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects (Human Research Ethics Committee – 10499512.0.0000.0021/2012) and were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Athletes were informed about the experimental procedures and risks, and signed an informed consent prior to their participation in the study. Design Subjects performed four visits to the laboratory to perform familiarization with the experimental procedures, a graded exercise test (GXT) in a table tennis specific effort, a supramaximal effort at 120% of iVO2PEAK/GTX

until exhaustion in a specific test

(SUPRA120%) and two simulated table tennis matches, one with and one without metabolic measurements. SUPRA120% and match simulations were applied in randomized order. All tests were carried out at the same time of day with a minimum of 48 hours rest between tests,


to ensure complete recovery. Strong verbal encouragement was provided throughout all maximal exercises. Physiological Measures. Respiratory gas exchange and heart rate (HR) were collected breath-by-breath during all tests using a Cosmed K4b2 portable telemetric gas analysis system (K4b2, Cosmed, Rome, Italy) coupled with a polar transmitter belt (T31, Polar Electro, Kempele, Finland). During the simulated match and SUPRA120%, the


respiratory gases was measured over the 10 minutes of rest before the warm-up, during the warm-up and the test, and for seven minutes after the end of the exercise to determine the fast component of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOCFAST).6-9 Before each test, the gas analyzer was calibrated using a high-precision gas mixture (5.06% CO2 and 16.02% O2; White Martins®, Osasco, Brazil) and the spirometer with a 3-liter syringe (Hans Rudolf, Kansas City, Missouri, USA), in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. After the removal of outliers to exclude discrepant breaths, breath-by-breath oxygen uptake (VO2) data were smoothed using rolling 5-second average and interpolated to give 1-second values (OriginPro 8.0; Origin Lab Corporation, Microcal, MA, USA) to enhance the underlying VO2 response characteristics.7,10 To measure the blood lactate concentration (BLC), blood samples were drawn from the earlobe (25 μL) after 10 minutes of rest, immediately after each set of the simulated table tennis match and immediately after and in the 3rd, 5th and 7th minute after the end of each match and SUPRA120%, while in the GTX the blood samples were drawn only after the effort. Blood samples were stored at -20ºC in tubes containing 50 micro-liters of sodium fluoride (1%) and later analyzed using an electrochemical lactate analyzer (Yellow Springs Instruments model 2300, Ohio, USA) to determine the BLC. Graded Exercise Test and Supramaximal Effort. GTX and SUPRA120%, were applied with the athletes performing only forehand offensive strokes against balls shot from a


ball throwing machine Newgy Robo-Pong 2050 (Gallatin, Tennessee, EUA) used as an ergometer.3-5 The ball speed (approximately 35 km/h; speed setting 15) and lateral ball oscillation (settings 5 and 15) were kept constant throughout the tests. The frequency of ball deliveries by the machine (ball/min) provided the adjustment of exercise intensity. Balls were alternately shot to two points on the table (30-40 cm on either side of the table center line, so that the ball made contact with the table 50-60 cm from the net, simulating an opponent’s


shot.3,4,11,12 In the GTX, minimum exercise intensity (frequency) at which VO2PEAK/GTX was achieved (iVO2PEAK/GTX) and VT2/GTX were determined. The GTX consisted of an initial intensity of 30 balls/min with increments of 3-4 balls/min every two minutes until volitionary exhaustion.3-5

Volitionary exhaustion was defined as the moment at which the subject

decided to terminate the test even with strong verbal encouragement. iVO2PEAK/GTX was considered as the highest average VO2 during the final 30s, and iVO2PEAK/GTX was considered as the minimum intensity at which VO2PEAK/GTX was achieved.5 According to the criteria proposed by McLellan13 and Davis14 VT2/GTX corresponded to the exercise intensity at which an increase in both VE/VO2 and VE/VCO2 over workload occurred. All measurements of VT2/GXT were made by visual inspection of graphs of time (workload) plotted against each relevant respiratory variable measured during testing. The SUPRA120% consisted of an exhaustive exercise at 120% of iVO2PEAK/GTX. The time to exhaustion was recorded and the MAOD was considered as the sum of the anaerobic glycolytic and phosphocreatine (PCr) contributions.4,6,8 Simulated Table Tennis Matches and Energetic contributions Measurement. Twenty-two table tennis matches were performed, played with a maximum of seven sets (the winner was required to win 4-sets) following the rules of the International Table Tennis Federation. The matches were formatted to mimic all aspects of an official match in high


performance table tennis. All matches were recorded using a camera (60 Hz, Handycam DCR-SR21, Sony, Tokyo, Japan) and the duration of each rally and rest were timed, which allowed us to calculate the total match duration, total net duration, rally duration, rest time between the rallies, work-to-rest-ratio, effective playing time, number of shots per rally and rate of shots.1 Energetic contributions from oxidative phosphorylation (WOXID), phosphocreatine


breakdown (WPCr) and glycolysis (WBLC) were estimated during the simulated table tennis match and SUPRA120%. The WOXID was estimated by subtracting the resting VO2 (VO2baseline) from the integrated VO2 over time to exhaustion using the trapezoidal methods. VO2baseline was defined as VO2, measured while standing still at rest for 10 minutes. WBLC energy was estimated by subtracting resting blood lactate from post-exercise BLC (ΔBLC), considering a value of 1 mmol/L to be equivalent to 3 mL O2/kg body mass.6,7,9,13 In the simulated table tennis match, the WBLC was measured at each set, blood lactate measured after each set minus the previous blood lactate value, and the overall WBLC corresponded to the sum of all ΔBLC values. Finally, the WPCr contribution was considered to be the EPOCFAST, which was estimated by multiplication of the amplitude and the time constant of the fast component of a bi-exponential model using OriginPro 8.0 software (OriginLab Corporation, Microcal, Massachusetts, USA) (Eq. 2).4,8-14 For the simulated match, the VO2 data during the breaks between each rally and each set were disregarded as potential WPCr contribution, due to the very short recovery time (i.e., ~8-s) 1 and the fact that the athletes performed low intensity activities during the breaks such as jogging to catch the ball, jumps and other activities, which maintained the increased VO2 likely to result in an overestimation of WPCr.15 Therefore, these values were considered as oxidative phosphorylation energy. An energy equivalent of 20.9 kJ per L O2 was used.4,11,13,14


Statistical Analysis The results are presented as mean±standard deviation (SD) and lower/upper 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Initially, the data were analyzed using the Shapiro Wilk test to verify normality, which allows parametric analysis. To compare the energy contributions between the sets, only the first, second, third and final set played were considered to equalize the number of sets (n=11) (the winner was required to win 4-sets). Repeated measure


Analysis of Variance was used to compare the energy contributions measured during each set of the match. In addition, Mauchly’s sphericity test was applied to the data, and violation of sphericity was assumed when the F test was significant. In cases of violation of sphericity, the Greenhouse-Geisser Epsilon correction was used. Analysis was completed using the Bonferroni multiple comparison test. The Pearson product-moment correlation test was used for correlating the energy system contributions with other procedures. For all statistical procedures, the significance level was set at P