Concurrent Training on the Performance of Team Sports Athletes

Overview

This study will add to the existing pool of knowledge with more appropriate sample size. The main purpose will be to provide coaches with a practical proposal for concurrent training(CT) to improve athletes' performance in mixed type sports and team sports. This study, therefore, will test the aspects of CT by evaluating and comparing the training adaptations induced by three forms of strength training modes in CT. One mode will be of Heavy-Resistance training where athlete will perform exercise with 80-90% of their 1RM. Second mode will be of Contrast-Strength training that will alternate the use of heavy and light resistance exercises and third mode will be Elastic Resistance Training. In the present study, these three strength protocols will be balanced for sequence of exercise, volume, duration, and other variables, so that the protocols differed only in the intensity of strength training. Comparing their training adaptations therefore will enable evaluation of the role of different forms of strength training in CT outcomes on performance.

Sports performance is influenced by the interaction of several physical variables. For this reason, most sports need both strength and endurance capacities to maximize overall performance. Therefore, a combination of resistance and aerobic training, usually called concurrent training (CT), has been used recently as a way of simultaneously improving strength and aerobic performances according to the needs of a specific sport. This combination can be challenging and can influence training adaptations, being a problematic issue for coaches. Several investigators report that combined or concurrent training (CT), in which strength and aerobic endurance training are included in the same training sessions or program, interferes with the development of muscle strength or power. Reduction in strength adaptations from CT could result from neuromuscular fatigue induced by concurrent aerobic endurance exercise, which could limit the maximal muscle force that can be produced during resistance training. A converse reduction in aerobic capacity from concurrent training has seldom been reported. The reduction in strength adaptations from concurrent strength and aerobic endurance training has been termed the interference effect or phenomenon. In contrast to interference, several investigators report compatibility of strength and endurance training, i.e., no reduction in strength adaptations from concurrent strength and aerobic endurance training. In sports applications, concurrent training has been reported to increase diverse measures of performance in basketball players, competitive rowers, endurance runners, soccer players, professional handball players, and competitive cyclists. These findings suggest that in athletes, at least, concurrent strength and aerobic endurance training has complimentary or synergic effects, rather than the contradictory or antagonistic effects implied by interference. Therefore, clarifying the concurrent training effects is necessary and will have implications for medicine, science, sports, and recreational exercise. In sports, effects of CT i.e. interference or synergy are crucial to exercise physiologists, coaches, trainers, and athletes, who invest substantial time and resources to maximize training adaptations and competitive efficiency. Confirmation of synergy effect of CT, in contrast, could lead to more efficient athletic training protocols. Although, some researches have de-emphasized aerobics in resistance training programs, for example, bodybuilders have portrayed aerobics as counterproductive to resistance training adaptations. On the contrary, however, several United States national certifying, training, and medical organizations recommend CT to maximize the benefits of exercise at all levels, including the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the American Diabetes Association (ADA), and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).