The competitive demands of elite male field hockey

To establish the energy cost of competitive field hockey, nine international hockey players wore a modified Sport Tester PE3000 telemetric heart rate monitor during matchplay and also completed a laboratory based incremental treadmill test to establish maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). The heart rate data from competition were compared with heart rate and oxygen uptake data measured in the laboratory. Individual regression equations were established from these data to estimate the energy penditure during competitive match-play. The mean heart rate during competition was 159 +/- 8 beats/min (mean +/- SD). The mean estimated oxygen uptake during competition was 48.2 +/- 5.2 ml/kg/min which is commensurate with 78% of the group's mean maximal oxygen uptake of 61.8 +/- 1.8 ml/kg/min. The mean estimated energy expenditure throughout an entire match was 5.19 MJ and rates of energy expenditure ranged from 83 kJ/min for the centre midfield position to 61.1 kJ/min for the left corner forward position. This study has shown the feasibility of heart rate monitoring as a means of estimating energy expenditure in elite hockey. Competitive matches place a heavy demand on the aerobic system and require players to expend energy at relatively high levels.