Abstract
Research studies dealing with BC in women volleyball players are often focused on a lower performance level when compared with the submitted study. The problem in the field of results comparison is variety in the methodology used in BC assessment.
OBJECTIVE The objective of our study is to describe the body composition (BC) profile of top-performance women volleyball players and verify whether there are differences in the chosen parameters between them. The examined group consists of women volleyball players of two teams which were participants in the European Champions League (T1, n=12; T2, n=9).
METHODS By means of a multifrequency bioimpedance analysis, we observed lean body mass (LBM), fat mass (FM), Body cell mass (BCM), relative BCM (BCMrel), extracellular mass (ECM) and their mutual ratio (ECM/BCM), cell quote (CQ), phase angle (α), basal metabolic rate (BMR), total body water (TBW) with a distinction between extracellular (ECW) and intracellular (ICW) water. One-Way ANOVA and Cohen's d were used for comparison of differences between the monitored teams.
RESULTS Differences in the examined parameters of body composition between the screened samples were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Effect size revealed moderate differences for other parameters (α, ECM, BCM, ECM/BCM, BMR, FM and CQ).
Fat mass percentage in our women players was lower in comparison to values recorded in women players in most of studies. Relatively high values of TBW, LBM and ECM/BCM in women volleyball players of both teams indicate their good performance capacity.
CONCLUSIONS The body composition profile revealed the appropriate predispositions of observed players for their performance in volleyball. The measured parameters of BC corresponding to top-performance sport are better than in high performance sport or the general population.