Abstract
BackgroundThe improvement of strength and athletic performance during a competitive season in elite soccer players is a demanding task for the coach.AimsAs whole-body electrostimulation (WB-EMS) training provides a time efficient stimulation potentially capable in exerting skeletal muscle adaptations we aimed to test this approach over 7 weeks in trained male soccer players during a competitive season.HypothesisWe hypothesized that a superimposed WB-EMS will increase maximal strength and type I and type II myofiber hypertrophy.MethodsTwenty-eight male field soccer players were assigned in either a WB-EMS group (EG, n = 10), a training group (TG, n = 10), or a control group (CG, n = 8). The regular soccer training consists of two to four sessions and one match per week. In concurrent, the EG performed 3 × 10 squat jumps superimposed with WB-EMS twice per week, TG performed 3 × 10 squat jumps without EMS twice per week, and the CG only performed the regular soccer training. Muscle biopsies were collected and strength tests were performed under resting conditions before (Baseline) and after the intervention period (Posttest). Muscle biopsies were analyzed via western blotting and immunohistochemistry for skeletal muscle adaptive responses. To determine the effect of the training interventions a 2 × 3 (time ∗ group) mixed ANOVA with repeated measures was conducted.ResultsMaximal strength in leg press (p = 0.009) and leg curl (p = 0.026) was significantly increased in EG along with a small but significant increase in type II myofiber diameter (p = 0.023). All of these adaptations were not observed in TG and CG.ConclusionWB-EMS can serve as a time efficient training method to augment strength capacities and type II fiber myofiber growth in soccer players when combined with specific resistance training. This combination may therefore be a promising training modification compared to traditional strength training for performance enhancement.
Highlights
The improvement of physical performance of soccer players in short time courses is of crucial importance in high performance soccer
In our previous study with professional soccer players (Filipovic et al, 2016) we achieved significant increases in maximal strength of the leg press (LP), jumping and sprinting performance with a dynamic WB-EMS training after 7 weeks (14 sessions)
Control group (CG) tends to have a higher percentage of bodyfat in general but no group differences could be observed between the groups at Baseline or Posttest
Summary
The improvement of physical performance of soccer players in short time courses is of crucial importance in high performance soccer. Due to a lack of time, the implementation of alternative training methods that offer high efficient stimulation of muscle adaptation has increasing value. Stimulation of muscle via electromyostimulation (EMS) to increase maximal strength and specific strength capacities such as jumping and sprinting of trained and elite team sport athletes seems promising (Delitto et al, 1989; Maffiuletti et al, 2000, 2002a; Malatesta et al, 2003; Gondin et al, 2005; Billot et al, 2010; Filipovic et al, 2016). The improvement of strength and athletic performance during a competitive season in elite soccer players is a demanding task for the coach
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