Lighter shoes have been shown to improve running economy; however this same phenomenon has not been investigated in basketball shoes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the physiological effects of basketball shoes of different masses during an on-court, game like scenario. Twelve male basketball players participated in this study. One shoe that was modified to have three different masses (Light, Medium, and Heavy) was evaluated in this study. Subjects completed a basketball-specific 20 minute fieldbased work protocol (Basketball-20) in each shoe on three different days while five physiological variables of interest were collected. The light shoe condition resulted in significantly lower oxygen consumption, ventilation, and rate of energy expenditure than the medium and heavy conditions.
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