The Physiology of Basketball – The Need for a Specific Field Test (Aerobic and Anaerobic)

The game of basketball is characterized by short and intense bouts of activity at medium to high frequency. Basketball entails specific types of movements, physiological requirements and energy sources. The duration of physiological responses involving adenosine triphosphate (ATP), creatine phosphate (CP) and glycolysis responses to this type of activity is 5-6 seconds for a single sprint, and a contribution of less than 10% of the aerobic system. Recovery periods in basketball, as a rule, are not long enough to fill the gap for such high intensity activities. It is hard to achieve the same level of performance consistently over time in a repeated sprint. This means that basketball players need great athletic ability in order to demonstrate the speed, strength, and power required to produce a successful performance most proficiently. Therefore, tests are needed to help coaches to monitor their players and ensure that they have the physiological capacity required for the game. The aim of fitness tests is to assess the condition of athletes in terms of each fitness component, in order to determine what needs to be improved through the training program, and to conduct retests at set times to assess whether their condition has changed. These tests are especially important among children and teenagers so that coaches can see whether players are developing in terms of physical fitness as they get older. The literature offers a number of widely used tests to measure aerobic and anaerobic fitness. This article reviews the physiological demands of basketball and analyzes the field tests commonly used at present. The article emphasizes the need for a specific test that will serve coaches and physical fitness trainers in monitoring their players.

Keywords: aerobic; anaerobic; explosive; basketball; physiology; field test