The effects of sprint training and the Nordic hamstring exercise on eccentric hamstring strength and sprint performance in adolescent athletes
- Authors: Freeman, Brock , Young, Warren , Talpey, Scott , Smyth, Andrew , Pane, Calvin , Carlon, Todd
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness Vol. 59, no. 7 (2019), p. 1119-1125
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- Description: BACKGROUND. Hamstring strain injuries (HSI) are among the most common injuries in field-based team sports with a high-speed running component. The implementation of the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) is a well-documented method of improving eccentric hamstring strength to mitigate the risk of HSI occurrence. Sprint training is specific to the injury mechanism and is thought to activate the hamstrings through maximal eccentric contractions. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of sprint training and the NHE on eccentric hamstring strength and sprint performance. METHODS. Twenty-eight participants (mean +/- SD age=16.21 +/- 1.34 years; height=1.75m +/- 0.10m; body mass=68.5kg +/- 12.1kg) completed an eccentric hamstring strength assessment and 40m sprint to assess acceleration and maximum speed. Participants were randomly allocated to either a NHE training or sprint training group. Two sessions per week for four-weeks of training was performed with baseline testing procedures repeated in the week following the intervention. Perceptions of soreness were recorded following the warm-up in each training session. RESULTS. Both the NHE (effect size=0.39, P<0.05) and sprint training (effect size=0.29, P<0.05) groups displayed significant gains in eccentric hamstring strength. The NHE group reported trivial improvements in sprint performance, whilst the sprint training group experienced a moderate improvement, specifically in maximum speed (ES=0.83 Moderate). Sprint training also produced greater perceptions of soreness than the NHE following a four-week training intervention, specifically before the start of the last session (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS. These findings indicate that sprint training had a beneficial effect for both eccentric hamstring strength and sprint performance, whilst also producing greater soreness than the NHE following the final training session. It was concluded that a four-week block of maximum speed training may have both an injury prevention and performance enhancement benefit.
Looking beyond the obvious: Intra expertise differences are harder to see!
- Authors: Berry, Jason , Carlon, Todd , Young, Warren
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology Vol. 34, p. S68-S68
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- Description: Sport expertise research provides a robust body of knowledge on the characteristics that separate experts from those less skilled. Perceptual skill is recognized as an important factor in agility performance in team sports like Australian Football (AF). However, perceptual-agility research to date has concentrated on inter expertise skill differences (i.e., elite vs. novice). This study investigated the presence of any intra-group differences within a cohort of elite AF athletes on a simulated perceptual-agility task. Specific aims were to 1) identify if AF athletes predetermined as high agility displayed superior perceptual-agility skill compared to low agility AF athletes, and 2) identify if high experience AF athletes displayed superior perceptual-agility skill compared to low experience AF athletes. Fourteen AF athletes performed a video-based Perceptual-Agility Test (PAT) that assessed the athletes’ decision time and decision accuracy in response to intercepting an attacking player on the projected simulation. Part 1 of the analysis; the athletes were divided into two groups (n = 7 each) by way of median split according to their in-game defensive agility performance scores. T-tests were conducted to reveal any differences between the groups in decision time and decision accuracy (Part 1 and Part 2). No significant differences were found in decision time or decision accuracy between the high and low agility AF athletes. Part 2 of the analysis; the 14 athletes (high experience) were compared to a group of low experience athletes (n = 8) on their PAT performance. No significant differences were found in decision time or decision accuracy between the high and low experience AF athletes. While there were no observable differences within the cohort of elite AF athletes using the predetermined classifications of agility and experience, this study does, however, confirm the difficulty of revealing intra expertise performance indicators using assessment tools that routinely discriminate a priori levels of skill (i.e., expert vs. novice).
Comparison of playing positions in elite Australian football: A case study of one club
- Authors: Young, Warren , Burge, Peter , Russell, Andrew , Carlon, Todd
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning Vol. 18, no. 4 (2010), p. 11-13
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- Description: Previous research using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to track Australian football (AF) games has used a 1 Hz sampling rate and limited variables to describe game demands. The aim of this study was to compare midfielders and forwards/backs from one elite Australian football club via GPS tracking of games. Game files (n=100) were collected from 19 players (14 midfielders, 5 forwards/backs) and the total distance covered at various speed and acceleration/deceleration zones was analysed. Player positions were statistically compared by one-way ANOVA. Midfielders covered a greater total distance and distance at running speeds between 4-7 m.s. (p<0.05), whereas forwards/backs produced slightly greater maximum running speeds, greater distance sprinting at speeds over 7 m.s, and greater distance peforming high accelerations (p>0.05). The movement demands for midfielders tended towards moderate to fast running speeds whereas forwards/backs displayed a greater proportion of their distance covered at high speed and acceleration/deceleration. It is suggested from the GPS variable that used conditioning should be somewhat indidvidualised to match the specific demands of the playing positions.
- Description: C1