Very-Heavy Sled Training for Improving Horizontal-Force Output in Soccer Players
in International Journal of Sports Physiology and PerformanceClick name to view affiliation
Background:
Sprint running acceleration is a key feature of physical performance in team sports, and recent literature shows that the ability to generate large magnitudes of horizontal ground-reaction force and mechanical effectiveness of force application are paramount. The authors tested the hypothesis that very-heavy loaded sled sprint training would induce an improvement in horizontal-force production, via an increased effectiveness of application.
Methods:
Training-induced changes in sprint performance and mechanical outputs were computed using a field method based on velocity–time data, before and after an 8-wk protocol (16 sessions of 10- × 20-m sprints). Sixteen male amateur soccer players were assigned to either a very-heavy sled (80% body mass sled load) or a control group (unresisted sprints).
Results:
The main outcome of this pilot study is that very-heavy sled-resisted sprint training, using much greater loads than traditionally recommended, clearly increased maximal horizontal-force production compared with standard unloaded sprint training (effect size of 0.80 vs 0.20 for controls, unclear between-groups difference) and mechanical effectiveness (ie, more horizontally applied force; effect size of 0.95 vs –0.11, moderate between-groups difference). In addition, 5-m and 20-m sprint performance improvements were moderate and small for the very-heavy sled group and small and trivial for the control group, respectively.
Practical Applications:
This brief report highlights the usefulness of very-heavy sled (80% body mass) training, which may suggest value for practical improvement of mechanical effectiveness and maximal horizontal-force capabilities in soccer players and other team-sport athletes.
Results:
This study may encourage further research to confirm the usefulness of very-heavy sled in this context.
Morin is with Université Côte d’Azur, LAMHESS, Nice, France. Brown and Cross are with the Sports Performance Research Inst New Zealand (SPRINZ), Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. Petrakos is with the Glasgow Warriors, Glasgow, UK. Jiménez-Reyes is with the Faculty of Physical Sciences and Sport, Catholic University of San Antonio, Murcia, Spain. Samozino is with the Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricité, Université Savoie Mont Blanc, Chambéry, France.
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