engleski

Effects of five weeks of functional vs. traditional resistance training on anthropometric and motor performance variables

Functional training (FT) refers to exercise training programs designed to imitate the activities and movement patterns that occur in an athlete’s characteristic activity. Its purpose is to make training adaptations more specific and applicable. There is a lack of studies on the effects of FT in young and previously trained subjects. The aim of this study was to determine the training-specific effects of FT and traditional strength training (TRT) on a subset of anthropometric measures, explosive strength, agility, and sprint performance in young (22-25 years of age), previously trained male subjects (N=23) that were divided randomly into two groups (FT, n=11 ; TRT, n=12). The variables included anthropometric measures (body height, body weight, body fat percentage, lean body mass, and total body water), two agility tests (5-10-5 meter shuttle run and the hexagon test – HEXAGON), jumping ability (air time, peak power – PEAKPWR, jump height, ground contact time – GCT), throwing ability tests (standing overarm medicine ball throw (SMB) and lying medicine ball throw), and sprint variables (10m and 20m dash and 10-20m split time results). The training program consisted of three either FT or TRT training sessions per week through 5 weeks. Pre- and post-training intragroup differences were established using the dependent samples t-test. The independent samples t-test was calculated to detect inter-group differences. Anthropometric variables did not change significantly during the training period. Intra-group comparisons revealed significant improvements in the SMB and HEXAGON values for FT group, whereas TRT significantly improved GCT, PEAKPWR, and HEXAGON performance but decreased achievement in SMB. In conclusion, FT and TRT influenced differently the explosive strength and agility variables. More precisely, the results demonstrated that TRT increased the energetic potential of trained musculature, which resulted in an overall increase in power qualities, while FT improved postural control and precise coordination. Certain limitations of the study are noted.

agility; strength; students; hexagon test

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