Training-induced changes in aerobic aptitudes of professional basketball players

We investigated the effects of a training program on the aerobic aptitudes and the relevance of the instant of equality of pulmonary gas exchange (i. e., RER = 1.00) to assess these effects in professional basketball players. Eight athletes performed two incremental exercise tests on a cycloergometer separated by 4.7 +/- 0.7 months. Physiological variables recorded during these two tests (heart rate, oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide output, respiratory exchange ratio, power output) allowed to determine the first and second ventilatory thresholds and the instant of equality of pulmonary gas exchange. The training program induced significant variations of resting heart rate, oxygen uptake and power output measured for the instant of equality of pulmonary gas exchange. Moreover, the used fractions of heart rate, oxygen uptake and power reserves for the instant of equality of pulmonary gas exchange and the second ventilatory threshold increase significantly. Inversely, maximal oxygen uptake, maximal power reached and the used fractions of reserves for the first ventilatory threshold do not differ significantly. Professional basketball training is not focused on drills aiming to enhance both the aerobic power and aptitude, our results suggest that this training program induce the same physiological changes as a typical aerobic training. We also demonstrated that the instant of equality of pulmonary gas exchange is a powerful tool to quantify the changes in aerobic aptitudes during a sport season.