As in all other team sports, physical preparation in handball is a key element (PPG, or generalized physical preparation), even if it is sometimes daunting. Frédéric Renotte , who details in our file the importance of physical preparation for team sports, tells us more about the specificities linked to this sport.
The specificities of the physical preparation of handball players
Let us first note what characterizes handball compared to other major team sports such as football and rugby. Handball - like basketball - is played on hard ground , most often indoors , and on more confined terrain. In addition to significant basic work to last over time, it requires extensive interval work for the athlete to support the incessant comings and goings .
At the pros , we also see that handball presents players who present a quite similar morphotype : they rely on fairly similar physical and technical qualities depending on the positions, even if it is less and less rare to see 2 meter pivots! (less for wingers but it is not impossible that this could happen in the near future). Finally, whether we play in the center or on the wings, everyone attacks and defends constantly , with very little downtime. This physical, technical and role uniformity somewhat simplifies the physical preparation which is generally similar for all players, which will simplify the role of the physical trainer with preparation equipment that is simpler to provide.
Handball: watch out for your joints!
Hard ground, jumps, extended shots: handball requires great attention to the level of risk of joint injuries . We have more and more men's and women's clubs ordering Stimium® Joint Flex from us, used as a treatment by players to try to relieve recurring joint problems in athletes who are so tall and under such strain, and to prevent any joint or cartilage problems whether during training periods or competition periods, since it is very common to have 2 matches per week.
As in basketball, vertical work is important. In handball, it is important not only to have good coordination of arm and leg movements, but also a good impulse to jump high, above the arms of the opposing defense. In addition to the height of the jumps, we will also work on the duration of the extension . By staying in the air as long as possible, the offensive player can more easily find the right moment to unleash his shot. All this improves through specific jumping exercises.
In handball, proprioception work is essential
Repeated jumps also mean stress on the ankles and knees, both when taking off and landing on the ground, sometimes after being jostled in the air.
" So we can work on traditional schemes and in particular cladding , explains Frédéric Renotte. In preparation, more and more basketball nutritionists are working with Stimium® PreWorkOut Max to improve resistance to exercise. We also have more and more requests for Pwr Creatine Tabs , for the muscle strengthening and improved recovery part. The use of creatine by professional handball clubs no longer has the sulphurous side that it could have had in the 90s. On this same core and bodybuilding section, Whey Stimium® [C] Whey , Stimium® Iso Hwy or Stimium® VegPro are commonly used to maintain a good protein intake sustainably during the training phase and to strengthen the upper and lower body.
In handball, we will especially emphasize the work of proprioception which is crucial . What is it about ? He does work on balance , particularly on mobile boards specially designed for this purpose and which are found in particular among sports physiotherapists. These boards cause destabilization, a breaking position in order to accustom the ankles to being jostled, to anticipate certain unforeseen events . When you injure your ankle, for example, it's because you're working in a closed chain, so it can't escape by being stuck to the ground in some way. As a result, there is motor and sensory information which circulates between this ankle and the brain via an incoming route via the spinal cord and which is interpreted via the cortex. The brain then sends a response to the stabilizing muscles of the ankle. If we increases the speed of information transmission through “education” carried out via proprioception exercises, we reduce the risk of this type of injury. This whole process lasts just 70 milliseconds. So, if we educate our body schema, the work is already done in anticipation, at the moment of suspension and not of landing on the ground. Of the 70 milliseconds that we have just mentioned, we have already gained 35: those of the return.” Very clearly, this notion of speed of transmission of information is one of the reasons why we have Stimium Bacopa to help players in this by acting on strengthening concentration, by making it possible to manage stress, by increasing motivation in order to intensify efforts and increase the speed of processing information.
Finally, it is obvious that physical preparation in handball must also provide a specific arm work to maintain and improve the power of the shots.
During large training periods as well as before matches, we recommend taking Stimium® Pro-Nrj Caps 30 minutes before , for extra energy and vitality.
During matches, particularly during half-time, many Star Ligue clubs alternately take our Stimium® Boost and Stimium® Pro-Nrj Gums for the immediate energy they provide and the ease of consumption. Several clubs also prepare bottles of Stimium Boost Powder to replenish the players with vitamins and minerals, especially at half-time.
After matches, as well as during the recovery period, Stimium® Mc3 or Stimium® Mc3 powder are widely used by handball players and recommended by club doctors and nutritionists to reduce the risk of cramps, and to combat muscle fatigue. , linked to the match, but also to the stress of the competition, travel, etc.
Stimium® Rgn3 Reload or Stimium® Rgn3 Clean-Up to restock with vitamins and minerals after exercise are in high demand by clubs, particularly for recovery which often starts on buses, trains or planes that take them home after workouts. travel. The competitions are just a series of key moments, and there is generally a fairly recurring ritual for all the clubs with which Stimium collaborates. After the match, a stick of MC3 , the number 1 product in endurance, then an ice bath (again often...in trash cans transformed into ice trays, for 3 to 5 minutes), then massage if the timing allows, then return in transport with recovery with RGN3 Reload . Finally, some clubs in handball have opted for our Mix Stimium® Iso Carb , initially developed for a top European football club but which also lends itself very well to handball, to replenish these sources of glycogen and proteins.
We are in France among the best trainers in Europe for handball with players from the former Yugoslavia (Croatia, Serbia), Germany and the Nordic countries, but what is certain is that our interlocutors at Stimium at within professional handball clubs, mainly doctors and nutritionists, have understood the benefit of intelligent supplementation to improve the performance of players and to optimize their recovery. We are proud at Stimium to be able to help them every day, and we carefully monitor the performance of the clubs we supply (and not only that). Handball has been at the top of the Olympus for almost 20 years thanks to the Barjots, and when we see our handball school today, we say to ourselves and we hope that this sport is not about to stop. so complete and spectacular!
