Resumen de Acute Effects of Battle Rope Exercise on Performance, Blood Lactate Levels, Perceived Exertion, and Muscle Soreness in Collegiate Basketball Players

Wei-Han Chen, Wen-Wen Yang, Yi-Hua Lee, Huey-June Wu, Chen-Fu Huang, Chiang Liu

• This study investigated the acute effects of battle rope (BR) exercise on basketball players' performance, blood lactate levels, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and perceived muscle soreness. Fifteen well-trained Division-I male basketball players underwent the same test procedure at baseline, before BR exercise (30 minutes of rest after the baseline test), and after BR exercise. The 30-minute experimental protocol comprised 6 BR exercises at a work-to-rest ratio of 1:2 (20-second exercise and 40-second rest). Shooting accuracy, basketball chest pass speed, countermovement jump (CMJ) height, blood lactate levels, RPE (Borg Category-Ratio-10 scale), and perceived muscle soreness (visual analog scale, 0-100 mm) were measured in each test. The results indicated no change for any variables between baseline and before BR exercise. After BR exercise, performance decrements (p < 0.05) were recorded in shooting accuracy (16.9%) and basketball chest pass speed (9.1%), but no significant changes were observed for CMJ height. Battle rope exercise caused increases in blood lactate levels (13.6 mmol[middle dot]L-1), RPE (9.9), and perceived muscle soreness (upper-limb: 63-67 mm; trunk: 43-68 mm; and lower-limb: 45-52 mm). In conclusion, BR exercise is physically demanding on the upper body, resulting in decreased performance in shooting accuracy and basketball chest pass speed. Battle rope exercise may not be beneficial before a practice or game because it triggers acute exercise-induced performance decrements and fatigue. However, BR exercise may be suitable for basketball training sessions in which the objective is to strengthen technical skills under fatiguing conditions.