Handball Practice 11 - Extensive and diverse athletics training: Strength and endurance training on the court

The present training units can support you in improving your team's handball-specific fitness, especially in terms of speed, speed endurance, and strength.

The strength training units focus on improving core stability with musculoskeletal and dynamic stabilization exercises. Stability plays an important role in handball, as it is crucial to a high physical performance and can prevent injuries.

Considering speed and speed strength, reflexive jumping power, short sprints, and speed endurance are especially important. These skills are essential for succeeding in handball.

The training units combine course strength trainings with short contests and handball-specific exercises, thus showing the possibilities for creating a diverse fitness training that is also fun for the team.

The present training units are designed for older youth teams and adult teams. Hence, certain physical requirements must be met. The exercises can also be used in the training of younger teams, however, you have to make sure that the difficulty level is appropriate for the younger players.

This book contains the following training units:
TU 1 – Series of shots with reflexive jumping power training
This unit focuses on training the jumping power with handball-specific shooting exercises. After warm-up, a coordination run exercise, and a sprint contest, ball familiarization includes jumping and additional exercises with the ball. After the goalkeeper warm-up shooting, reaction time and jumping power are trained in two individual shooting exercises. A closing game completes this training unit.

TU 2 – Intensive speed strength/speed strength endurance training with various running directions
This athletics unit focuses on improving speed strength endurance. After warm-up and a short game, five athletics exercises train the various groups of thigh muscles by moving forwards, backwards, and to the side. This training unit is very intense and can thus be incorporated in preparation periods or season breaks.

TU 3 – Handball-specific endurance training with fast break movements
This unit trains handball-specific endurance focusing on running and jumping exercises. After warm-up including a coordination run exercise, ball familiarization includes a passing and running course across the whole court. Goalkeeper warm-up shooting includes a series of 4 shots combined with a subsequent 2-on-2 fast break. The following endurance unit requires jumping exercises and playing 2-on-2 across the whole court alternately. This intense unit ends with a team exercise and a team fast break contest.

TU 4 – Intense athletics training for arms and legs
This intense training unit focuses on athletics training. After warm-up including a game with high running intensity and a coordination run exercise, an athletics course is done. An additional jumping and strength exercise for the arms and a running exercise complete this training unit.

TU 5 – Handball-specific endurance training in game-like situations
This training unit contains a playful, handball-specific endurance unit. Each exercise is characterized by a high running intensity and is directly related to the handball game. After warm-up and ball familiarization as well as goalkeeper warm-up shooting, an endurance course is done. In this, two players have to accomplish a task as opponents. Which team is the first to score eight times? A sprint contest completes this intense training unit.

JÖRG MADINGER, born in Heidelberg (Germany) in 1970

Since July 2012: A-License, DHB

Since February 2011: Handball club trainings, coaching (training and competitive areas)

November 2011: Foundation of the Handball Specialist Publishing Company (Handball Fachverlag) (handall-uebungen.de, Handball Practice and Special Handball Practice)

May 2009: Foundation of the handball online platform handball-uebungen.de

2008-2010: Youth coordinator and youth coach, SG Leutershausen (Germany)

Since 2006: B-License

Editor’s note:
In 1995, a friend convinced me to join him in coaching a handball youth team (male, under 13 years of age).

This was the beginning of my career as a team handball coach. Ever since I enjoyed working as a coach and had high requirements concerning my exercises. Soon, the standard pool of exercises wasn’t enough for me anymore and I started to modify and develop drills myself.

Today, I coach a broad range of youth and adult teams with different performance levels and adjust my training units to the individual needs of the teams.

A few years ago, I started selling my exercises and drills online at handball-uebungen.de. Since, in handball training, there is a tendency towards a general athletic training that focuses on coordination work – especially in the training of youth teams –, a large number of my games and exercises can be applied to other sports as well.

Get inspired by the various game concepts, be creative, and rely on your own experiences!