Breathing and team sports: why ventilatory thresholds are key in football, rugby and basketball

PAIRFS
3 days ago
4 min read

Endurance sports already make extensive use of ventilatory thresholds (VT1 and VT2) to structure training.

But what is less well known is that these thresholds are just as crucial in team sports , where the effort is much more intermittent, explosive and unpredictable.

Football, rugby, basketball, handball, hockey:

➡️ All these sports rely on alternating periods of intense effort, short recovery periods, and rapid restarts. And in these contexts, respiratory capacity plays a major role .

This article explains why VT1 and VT2 are fundamental markers for improving performance in team sports — and how coaches can effectively integrate them.

1. Team sports: an explosive mix of aerobic and anaerobic exercise

Contrary to popular belief, team sports are not “100% explosive”. They rely on a very precise balance between:

Aerobic energy system (dominant): walking, jogging, repositioning, recovery
Anaerobic lactic energy system : repeated sprints, duels, changes of pace
Anaerobic alactic pathway : impulses, bursts of energy, immediate accelerations

To perform well, a player must:

✔ Repeat sprints without a drop in power

✔ Recover very quickly between two actions

✔ maintain mental clarity under fatigue

✔ Manage intensity continuously for 60 to 90 minutes

These three capabilities depend directly on…

👉 ventilation

👉 VT1 and VT2 metabolic transitions

Measure your thresholds with ZoneX

2. VT1: the threshold that determines the ability to recover between two actions

Ventilatory threshold 1 (VT1) corresponds to the point where breathing begins to accelerate and the body switches to a greater use of carbohydrates.

In team sports, staying below VT1 means:

recover faster after a sprint
reduce heart rate between two actions
to maintain lucidity
save energy

A player with a low VT1:

❌ gets tired quickly

❌ takes longer to recover

❌ accumulates CO₂ more quickly

❌ passes over VT2 more often unintentionally

A player with a high VT1:

✔ Recovers quickly

✔ can chain together more efforts

✔ remains useful at the end of the match

👉 VT1 = the key indicator of recovery capacity.

3. VT2: the threshold that determines the maximum sustainable intensity

Ventilatory threshold 2 (VT2) is the point at which ventilation becomes excessive and acidosis develops rapidly.

In team sports, exceeding VT2 means:

loss of lucidity
decrease in speed
decline in technical quality
recovery much slower
subsequent sprints less powerful

This is exactly what we see in a player who:

🔥 finishes his sprints “in pain”

🔥 can no longer repeat high-intensity actions

🔥 takes several minutes to return to a stable breathing rate

A high VT2 allows:

✔ to remain powerful for longer

✔ to chain sprints together without bursting out

✔ to maintain control during intense phases

✔ to win duels even at the end of the match

👉 VT2 = the key indicator of the quality of repeated intense efforts.

4. Why measuring heart rate is not enough in team sports

Heart rate is limited in intermittent sports:

She reacts with a delay during a sprint
It remains elevated long after the action
It does not distinguish between energy sectors
It does not reflect the accumulation of CO₂
She is greatly influenced by emotional stress.

Result :

👉 a player can be “in low cardio zone” but already above VT2 in terms of respiration.

Breathing, on the other hand:

✔ reacts instantly

✔ shows metabolic transitions

✔ clearly indicates the actual intensity

5. How to use ventilatory thresholds in football, rugby, basketball

🔹 1. Define the true training zones

Not percentages of FCmax. Not approximations.

Areas based on actual physiology .

🔹 2. Optimize intermittent work

For example :

30/30
15/15
HIIT technique
sprint repetitions

By monitoring breathing, we know exactly when a player exceeds VT2 too often.

🔹 3. Assess fatigue in real time

Unstable breathing = ventilatory drift = over-fatigue.

This helps prevent injuries and performance declines.

🔹 4. Improve the ability to repeat sprints (RSA)

The ability to quickly return below VT1 is key to repeating intense efforts.

6. How ZoneX is transforming team sports training

ZoneX allows you to:

measure VT1 and VT2 of each player
analyze breathing during short sprints
monitor respiratory recovery between actions
detect ventilatory drift
assess the actual intensity in the match
individualize training loads

For a coach, this means:

✔ better manage intensities

✔ prevent excessive fatigue

✔ Optimize effort cycles

✔ to extend performance at the end of the match

Learn more about ZoneX

Conclusion

Ventilatory thresholds are not reserved for cyclists or runners.

In team sports, they are essential for:

recover better
repeat sprints
to remain clear-headed at the end of the match
avoid excessive intensity
increase the player's overall efficiency

👉 In a sport where every duel counts, breathing is a strategic advantage .

👉 With ZoneX, this advantage becomes measurable and actionable.