Differences in Aerobic and Anaerobic Capacity between Special Police Force Members and Elite Basketball Players

The goal of this research is to evaluate and compare the functional abilities of the special anti-terrorist unit from Serbia and professional basketball players. The idea is to determine whether members of the special unit police have high functional abilities and at what level are they compared to professional athletes. The sample of participants, for the purposes of this research, consisted of 162 respondents with an average age of 29.75±8.12 years who were classified into two groups. One group consisted of members of the SAF (special anti-terrorist force) (n=101) of average age 33.74±6.19 years and in other group were elite level professional basketball players from Serbia (n=57), of average age 22.39±4.25 from three Serbian clubs. To measure cardiorespiratory fitness, a cardiopulmonary exercises test (CPET) was performed on a treadmill (HPCOSMOS®). Maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), as a measure of aerobic capacity, was determined using the Quark CPET system (Cosmed®) by direct monitoring of gas exchange (oxygen and carbon dioxide). Aerobic ability of members of the Serbian SAF (special anti-terroristic force) can be considered excellent and almost close to the professional athletes, but statistically lower (p<0.05). Anaerobic capacity is also high and there is no difference in relation to basketball players (p>0.05). These results can be explained by the selection of people who are chosen for this unit, which can be called very rigorous and equated with sports selection. The results of our study point to the fact that a high level of cardiorespiratory fitness is not only required by professional sports, but also by certain professions such as SAF.