Accentuated Eccentric Loading Versus Flywheel Exercises in Footballers

NCT06985810 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: REC/RCR & AHS/24/0454
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 36
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In the field of football, the essence of the lower limb strength, power and general performance is greatly valued by any player who wants to perform exceptionally well in both the acceleration, jumping and general agility. Conventional strengthening techniques have always been basic and recent strategies such as the Accentuated Eccentric Loading (AEL) and Flywheel (FW) have been considered as the inventions. AEL increases the muscle contraction during the eccentric phase of exercises and therefore improves hypertrophy and strength. On the other hand, FW uses leverage kinetic energy to oppose, thus, promotes muscle contractions and changes constantly. There is different training modalities that can be applied during training sessions or in prepare to a particular event such as football. Thus, it is essential to compare the applicability of those modalities in training football players. This study design will be Randomized clinical trial. Thirty-six male age 18-21 years who consistently play football and participate in resistance training from previous one year will randomly assigned to the two different exercise protocol i.e. Accentuated eccentric loading and Flywheel. The participants will undergo training program for total of 8 weeks. These two groups will exercise three days in a week and each session will take about 60-75 minutes. In this study researcher will use Back Squat and Leg Press for lower limb strength. Hip thrusts and Broad Jump for lower limb power. Free weights or Weight Machines, 20- meter sprint test and Agility T-test to measure performance of footballers. Data will be analyzed using SPSS version 25.

Conditions

Sports Physical Therapy

Keywords

Agility; Clinical trials; Football; Power; Randomized; Strength training

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Back Squat

  Back squats compose muscular strength of lower limbs and hence, they were performed at a load of 90% of 1 RM. They recruit the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles and the lower back skeletal muscles. It can be concluded that back squat as a measure of maximal strength is reliable and valid especially in athletic subjects such as football players. Cronbach alpha is significant in strength assessment in sports using back squats; test-retest reliability ICC equals 0. 97 and construct validity has been discovered in existing works.

  8 weeks

• Hip Thrusts

  At 90% 1RM hip thrust with the barbell aims at the gluteal muscles and plays an essential role in the improvement of hip extension power needed profoundly in sprinting and jumping in football. This exercise has been proven to help in enhancing hip strength as well as sprint performance; meanwhile, the reliability coefficient of the test in measuring maximal strength in athletes was very high (ICC = 0. 94). The hip thrust's focus on the posterior chain renders it a measure of lower limb strength that is directly applicable to football performance.

  8 weeks

• Broad Jump

  The broad jump is a test that is frequently used in lower body power, which tracks the force thatan individual athlete is able to produce quickly. This exercise is quite pertinent for football players since it replicates the kind of movements involved in football. The broad jump has shown test-retest reliability of Internal Consistency Coefficient, ICC= 0. 95 and construct validity in determining lower body power of athletes. It is easy to administer, sensitive and reliable and thus widely accepted as a standard measure in athletic ability assessment.

  8 weeks

• Leg Press Machine

  The leg-press equipment is used perform unilateral leg-press exercise to determine 1-RM strength and the maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). This exercise focuses on the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes by comparatively giving a controlled situation to determine lower limb force. In correlating maximal strength in the context of the leg press, previous studies have found very high to almost perfect reliability (ICC = 0. 96) as well as validity in populations that demand accurate determination of unilateral leg strength.

  8 weeks

• Agility T-test

  Agility T-test checks how quickly players can change direction and control their body. Players start by sprinting forward, go around a cone, weave through middle cones to the top, turn, weave back through, circle another cone, and sprint to the finish. This tool reliability showed a highICC in almost all studies.

  8 weeks

• 20 Meter Sprint test

  The 20m sprint test assesses speed over a greater distance compared to the 10m sprint test. Studies have demonstrated that the 20m Sprint Test maintains validity and reliability when performed using electronic timing gates.

  8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Group A

EXPERIMENTAL

Accentuated Eccentric Loading training

Other: Accentuated Eccentric Loading training

Group B

EXPERIMENTAL

Flywheel exercises

Other: Flywheel exercises

Interventions

Accentuated Eccentric Loading training OTHER

18 particpants will train in AEL group for three days a week for eight weeks and each session will take about 60-75 minutes, focusing on eccentric exercises like back squats, leg press, and hip thrusts at 90% 1RM intensity. Sessions, supervised by coaches, include free weight and weight machine exercises. Performance tests (20m sprint, T-agility, broad jump, 1RM assessments) will evaluate progress at the study's start and end.

Group A

Flywheel exercises OTHER

18 particpants will train in FW group for three days a week for eight weeks and each session will take about 60-75 minutes, incorporating compound movements, Flywheel exercises (squats, sprints, jumps), and relevant free weight and weight machine exercises. Supervised sessions maintain consistent parameters. Performance tests (20m speed, T-agility, broad jump, 1RM assessments) will measure improvements at study start and end for evaluation.

Group B

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 21 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Age range: 18-21 years
• Only male participants.
• At least two years of resistance training experience
• Consistent participation in football and resistance training for at least one year prior to the study

You may not qualify if:

• Neuromuscular or musculoskeletal disorders.
• Participants have undergone any kind of surgery.
• Systematic illness: diabetic, hypertension, Trauma or accident history

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Riphah International University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Dring Stadium

Bahawalpur, Punjab Province, 63100, Pakistan

Location

Related Publications (15)

• Chaabene H, Markov A, Prieske O, Moran J, Behrens M, Negra Y, Ramirez-Campillo R, Koch U, Mkaouer B. Effect of Flywheel versus Traditional Resistance Training on Change of Direction Performance in Male Athletes: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 9;19(12):7061. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127061.

  PMID: 35742311 BACKGROUND

• Nuzzo JL, Pinto MD, Nosaka K. Connective Adaptive Resistance Exercise (CARE) Machines for Accentuated Eccentric and Eccentric-Only Exercise: Introduction to an Emerging Concept. Sports Med. 2023 Jul;53(7):1287-1300. doi: 10.1007/s40279-023-01842-z. Epub 2023 Apr 25.

  PMID: 37097413 BACKGROUND

• Godwin MS, Fearnett T, Newman MA. The Potentiating Response to Accentuated Eccentric Loading in Professional Football Players. Sports (Basel). 2021 Nov 26;9(12):160. doi: 10.3390/sports9120160.

  PMID: 34941798 BACKGROUND

• Weng Y, Liu H, Ruan T, Yang W, Wei H, Cui Y, Ho IMK, Li Q. Effects of flywheel resistance training on the running economy of young male well-trained distance runners. Front Physiol. 2022 Dec 8;13:1060640. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.1060640. eCollection 2022.

  PMID: 36569754 BACKGROUND

• Stojanovic MDM, Mikic M, Drid P, Calleja-Gonzalez J, Maksimovic N, Belegisanin B, Sekulovic V. Greater Power but Not Strength Gains Using Flywheel Versus Equivolumed Traditional Strength Training in Junior Basketball Players. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Jan 29;18(3):1181. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18031181.

  PMID: 33572738 BACKGROUND

• Negra Y, Chaabene H, Sammoud S, Prieske O, Moran J, Ramirez-Campillo R, Nejmaoui A, Granacher U. The Increased Effectiveness of Loaded Versus Unloaded Plyometric Jump Training in Improving Muscle Power, Speed, Change of Direction, and Kicking-Distance Performance in Prepubertal Male Soccer Players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2020 Feb 1;15(2):189-195. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0866. Epub 2019 Oct 15.

  PMID: 31094246 BACKGROUND

• Sagelv EH, Pedersen S, Nilsen LPR, Casolo A, Welde B, Randers MB, Pettersen SA. Flywheel squats versus free weight high load squats for improving high velocity movements in football. A randomized controlled trial. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2020 Oct 2;12:61. doi: 10.1186/s13102-020-00210-y. eCollection 2020.

  PMID: 33024564 BACKGROUND

• di Cagno A, Iuliano E, Buonsenso A, Giombini A, Di Martino G, Parisi A, Calcagno G, Fiorilli G. Effects of Accentuated Eccentric Training vs Plyometric Training on Performance of Young Elite Fencers. J Sports Sci Med. 2020 Nov 19;19(4):703-713. eCollection 2020 Dec.

  PMID: 33239944 BACKGROUND

• Wang J, Zhang Q, Chen W, Fu H, Zhang M, Fan Y. The effect of flywheel complex training with eccentric-overload on muscular adaptation in elite female volleyball players. PeerJ. 2024 Mar 21;12:e17079. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17079. eCollection 2024.

  PMID: 38525282 BACKGROUND

• Oliver JL, Ramachandran AK, Singh U, Ramirez-Campillo R, Lloyd RS. The Effects of Strength, Plyometric and Combined Training on Strength, Power and Speed Characteristics in High-Level, Highly Trained Male Youth Soccer Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2024 Mar;54(3):623-643. doi: 10.1007/s40279-023-01944-8. Epub 2023 Oct 28.

  PMID: 37897637 BACKGROUND

• Armitage M, McErlain-Naylor SA, Devereux G, Beato M, Buckthorpe M. On-field rehabilitation in football: Current knowledge, applications and future directions. Front Sports Act Living. 2022 Dec 5;4:970152. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.970152. eCollection 2022. No abstract available.

  PMID: 36544545 BACKGROUND

• Yuan S, Lu Z, Tan S, Zhang Z, Jing S, Liu H, Zhou Z, Bao D. Comparison of six-week flywheel and traditional resistance training on deceleration and dynamic balance in elite badminton players. Front Physiol. 2025 Feb 25;16:1491661. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1491661. eCollection 2025.

  PMID: 40070459 BACKGROUND

• Beato M, Dello Iacono A. Implementing Flywheel (Isoinertial) Exercise in Strength Training: Current Evidence, Practical Recommendations, and Future Directions. Front Physiol. 2020 Jun 3;11:569. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2020.00569. eCollection 2020. No abstract available.

  PMID: 32581845 BACKGROUND

• Maroto-Izquierdo S, Martin-Rivera F, Nosaka K, Beato M, Gonzalez-Gallego J, de Paz JA. Effects of submaximal and supramaximal accentuated eccentric loading on mass and function. Front Physiol. 2023 Jun 28;14:1176835. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1176835. eCollection 2023.

  PMID: 37449014 BACKGROUND

• Perna P, de Keijzer KL, Beato M. Flywheel resistance training in football: a useful rehabilitation tool for practitioners. Front Sports Act Living. 2024 Jul 5;6:1434995. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1434995. eCollection 2024. No abstract available.

  PMID: 39036368 BACKGROUND

Study Officials

• Aamir Gul Memon, MS

  Riphah International University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 15, 2025
• First Posted: May 22, 2025
• Study Start: July 30, 2024
• Primary Completion: March 15, 2025
• Study Completion: April 15, 2025
• Last Updated: May 22, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PA (1)