Heart rate and pulmonary oxygen uptake response in professional badminton players: comparison between on-court game simulation and laboratory exercise testing

Purpose: Badminton is characterized by bouts of high intensity interspersed by short recovery periods. Aerobic assessment via indirect calorimetry is impractical on court because of the encumbrance of portable metabolic devices. When the relationship between heart rate (HR) and pulmonary oxygen uptake (V˙O2)(HRvsV˙O2) is linear, HR monitoring can provide an indirect estimation of metabolic demands on court. However, owing to the intermittent nature of badminton, the HRvsV˙O2 relationship will differ from that obtained in the laboratory, making its use on court questionable. The aims of this study were to (i) assess cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses during on-court badminton rally simulations at different intensities and (ii) compare HRvsV˙O2 relationships obtained from laboratory and on-court measurements. Methods: The study sample was seven professional badminton players (age 16.9 ± 2.1 years; body mass 62.8 ± 9.2 kg; stature 1.71 ± 0.09 m). V˙O2, HR, and other respiratory and metabolic parameters were assessed in the laboratory with an incremental intermittent Astrand-type test (IIAT) and on court during rally simulations at three different intensities. Results: Cardiorespiratory parameters measured during the rallies reached 95% of maximal IIAT values. The HRvsV˙O2 slope and intercept differed in the on-court and the IIAT conditions (P = 0.012 and P = 0.008, respectively). Conclusions: The difference in HRvsV˙O2 regression lines between the IIAT and the on-court condition indicates that HR monitoring may not provide accurate data on the aerobic demands of specific on-court badminton tasks. HR monitoring should be preceded by an indirect calorimetry test on court to assess aerobic demands more precisely.