The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to determine the training tasks and load of professional
handball players during a weekly microcycle , and 2) to analyse the technical performance among
tactical positions, days of the week and formats of play that occurs during training sessions.
Fourteen male professional handball players of the first Spanish league participated in this study.
The two-way MANOVA revealed that the day of the week (p = 0.001; 𝜂" = 0.183; minimum
effect) and type of task (p = 0.001; 𝜂" = 0.047; minimum effect) had significant main effects on
heart rate variables. An analysis of variance also revealed that the day of the week (p = 0.001; 𝜂" =
0.109; minimum effect), format of the game (p = 0.001; 𝜂" = 0.147; minimum effect) and tactical
position (p = 0.001; 𝜂" = 0.124; minimum effect) had significant main effects on the technical
performance. These results suggested that more intense exercises occur in middle week sessions
and in drill-based tasks. Greater volume of technical actions was performed by centre backs, in
larger formats of the game and in the Friday session. This study allowed to characterize the
microcycle periodization planned by professional handball coaches and identified which formats
induced greater technical participation.
Keywords: training load; periodization; heart rate; technical performance; sports training.