Abstract
The aim of this study was to describe the changes in body composition, strength and sprint performance in response to an entire competitive season of football training supplemented with 2 inertial eccentric-overload training sessions a week in young male professional soccer players. Whole body and regional composition (assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), power output in half-squat and 40-m sprinting performance were evaluated in fourteen players. The eccentric-overload training consisted of training sessions a week of 1–2 sets of 10 exercises of upper-body and core (Day 1) and lower-body (Day 2), during the entire competitive season (27 weeks). Whole body fat mass decreased (-6.3 ± 3.6%, ES = -0.99 ± 0.54) substantially while lean mass increased (2.5 ± 0.8%, ES = 0.25 ± 0.09), with some regional differences. There was a substantial increase in half-squat power output (from 3% to 14%, ES from 0.45 to 1.73) and sprint performance (from 1.1% to 1.8%, ES from -0.33 to -0.44), however performance changes were not correlated with changes in body composition. A combined soccer and eccentric-overload training program was able to promote positive changes in body composition and physical factors relevant to both on-field performance and injury prevention in elite soccer players.
Highlights
Soccer is considered to be an intermittent sport [1] in which physically demanding, highintensity actions like sprinting, jumping, and change of direction are important factors for competitive success in both adult [2] and young players [3]
Arms-Mass, arms-fat free soft tissue mass (FFSTM) and arms-bone mineral content (BMC) were substantially increased at the end of the season
The present study analyzed the effects of combined football and eccentric-overload training on body composition (BC), power and sprint performance in elite male soccer players
Summary
Soccer is considered to be an intermittent sport [1] in which physically demanding, highintensity actions like sprinting, jumping, and change of direction are important factors for competitive success in both adult [2] and young players [3]. The demand for high-intensity actions has increased over time [4] and nowadays these type of actions are crucial in highlevel, competitive soccer, so optimization of those actions and associated factors is essential [5]. In this regard, the central goal of strength-training is to improve the playersspecific and relevant soccer activities inherent to the game [6]. Eccentric-overload training in soccer have any special access privileges that others would not have
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