The Trainability of Adolescent Soccer Players to Brief Periodized Complex Training.

Abstract

To investigate the effect of a complex, short-term strength/power training protocol on performance and body composition of elite early adolescent soccer players. Twenty-two players (14-15y) were randomly assigned to (1)an experimental group (N = 12; participated in a 5-wk training protocol with traditional multijoint power resistance exercises, Olympic-style lifts, plyometric drills, and speed work; 4timesper week) or (2)a control group (N = 10). Strength and power performance (jumping, speed, change of direction, repeated sprint ability, endurance, isokinetic strength of knee flexors and extensors, maximal strength in various lifts, and speed-endurance) were evaluated pretraining and posttraining. Cessation of training for 5 weeks in the control group induced a marked performance deterioration (∼5%-20%). Training not only prevented strength performance deterioration but also increased it (∼2%-30%). Endurance and repeated sprint ability declined to a smaller extent in experimental group compared with control group (15% vs 7.5%). Isometric strength and body composition remained unaltered in both groups. Results demonstrate that (1)young players exhibit a high level of trainability of their strength/power performance (but not endurance) in response to a short-term complex training protocol during early adolescence, (2)Olympic-style lifts are characterized by increased safety in this age group and appear to be highly effective, (3)lifts incorporating a hip thrust result in increased strength of both knee extensors and flexors, (4)cessation of training for only 5 weeks results in marked deterioration of strength/power and endurance performance, and (5)improvement of strength/power performance may be related to neural-based adaptation as body composition remained unaffected.