Effects of 8-week polarized vs. threshold training on cardiorespiratory fitness, post-exercise heart-rate recovery, and target accuracy under fatigue in table tennis players.

BACKGROUND

Table tennis training requires appropriate intensity distributions to improve physical conditioning without impairing skill execution. This study compared the effects of an 8-week polarized training (POL) model with those of a threshold training (THR) protocol in table tennis players.

METHODS

Thirty-two male table tennis players (Tier 2) were randomly allocated (1:1) to either the POL intervention (80% Zone 1, 5% Zone 2, and 15% Zone 3) or the THR intervention (50% Zone 1, 45% Zone 2, and 5% Zone 3). Participants completed five supervised on-court training sessions per week, with internal workload monitored and targeted to be similar between groups. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing was used to quantify maximal oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2 max ) and ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2). An incremental topspin protocol was used to assess sport-specific time to exhaustion (TTE), target accuracy during the terminal stage of the incremental protocol, and heart rate recovery at 60 s (HRR60).

RESULTS

The POL intervention produced greater physiological and performance adaptations than the THR intervention. VT1 increased to a greater extent in the POL group than in the THR group (+9.8% vs. +6.4%, p = 0.03). VT2 improved only in the POL group (+5.0% vs. -1.0%, p < 0.001). The POL protocol also increased sport-specific TTE (+2.7%, p = 0.049), improved target accuracy under fatigue (+7.8%, p = 0.041), and enhanced HRR60 (+11.7%, p = 0.040). The THR group showed no statistically significant improvements in these outcomes. No significant group-by-time interaction was observed for absolute V ˙ O 2 max (p = 0.821).

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that an 8-week polarized training program may be more effective than threshold training for improving submaximal cardiorespiratory fitness, sport-specific endurance, fatigue-induced technical stability, and autonomic recovery in competitive male table tennis players.