Effects of Exercise Frequency with Complex Contrast Training on Measures of Physical Fitness in Active Adult Males

Abstract

Complex contrast training (CCT) is an exercise modality that utilizes both high-load resistance activity and low-load plyometric activity in a set-by-set fashion within a single exercise session. Such a combination of exercises targets multiple aspects of the force–velocity curve and may thus lead to improvement of various components of physical fitness. However, no previous study has attempted to compare the effects of load-equated two vs. three CCT sessions per week on measures of physical fitness. Forty-five male participants aged 21.4 ± 2.0 years were randomly assigned to either two weekly CCT sessions (CCT-2; n = 15), three weekly CCT sessions (CCT-3; n = 15), or an active control group (CG; n = 15). Selected measures of physical fitness were assessed pre- and post-six weeks of training. The tests included the assessment of 15 and 30 m linear sprint speeds, upper (medicine ball throw) and lower limb muscle power (standing long jump and countermovement jump with arm thrust), muscle strength (isokinetic peak knee extensor/flexor torque), and change-of-direction speed (modified agility T-test (MAT)). Significant group–time interactions were observed for all dependent variables (all p < 0.001, ɳp2 = 0.51–0.78) using ANOVA. Post hoc tests indicated significant performance improvements for the CCT-2 and CCT3 groups for all dependent variables (Hedge’s g = 0.28–3.26, %Δ = 2.4–16.7), including the 15 and 30 m linear sprint speeds (p < 0.001), medicine ball throw (p < 0.001), standing long jump (p < 0.001), countermovement jump with arm thrust (p < 0.001), right leg knee extensor (p < 0.001) and flexor peak torque (p < 0.001), left leg knee extensor (p < 0.001) and flexor peak torque (p < 0.001), and change-of-direction speed (p < 0.001). The CCT-3 group showed greater improvements in MAT compared to the CCT-2 group (g = 3.26 vs. 0.70, p < 0.001). In conclusion, compared to active controls, the load-equated CCT-2 and CCT-3 programs provided similar effects on measures of physical fitness in active adult males. However, an athlete’s goal is to improve their MAT score, the CCT-3 program may elicit greater improvements compared with the CCT-2 program.

Effects of Six-Week Pre-Season Complex Contrast Training Intervention on Male Soccer Players’ Athletic Performance

“…Demographic data were collected and 1RM tests were performed during these familiarization sessions. The 1RM assessments were conducted according to methods outlined in a previous study [24] to define the load prescription for each participant during the high-load activities (i.e., squat, lunges, Romanian deadlift, bench press). The 1RM obtained for squat, lunges, Romanian deadlift, and bench press were 107 ± 10 kg, 64 ± 8 kg, 91 ± 11 kg, and 69 ± 10 kg, respectively.…”

“…J. Sport Tourism 2023, 30(3), [29][30][31][32][33][34][35] strength and conditioning coaches in overcoming congested weekly micro-cycles [11,23,24].…”

“…Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of six weeks of CCT with three weekly sessions on 30 m linear sprint, standing long jump (SLJ), CMJ with arm swing (CMJA), and peak torque of both legs during unilateral isokinetic knee extension and flexion, in highly trained amateur male soccer players during the pre-season. Based on previous evidence [17,18,24,31], it was hypothesized that CCT would induce improvement in the athletic performance compared to an active control group (i.e., standard soccer training).…”

Effects of complex-descending versus traditional resistance training on physical fitness abilities of female team sports athletes

“…The CDT group completed the RT exercise sets first followed by plyometric exercise sets. The exercises were selected based on a previous study on complex training [24]. The first two weeks constituted the anatomical adaptation phase and hence an intensity of 65% 1RM to induce the initial neural adaptations.…”

The effect of complex contrast training with different training frequency on the physical performance of youth soccer players: a randomized study

“…Furthermore, CCT has been extensively investigated with regard to training variables ( Cormier et al, 2020 ); however, training frequency remains an important variable that requires further study. Recently, Kumar et al (2023) showed that CCT with a different weekly frequency (2 vs . 3 training sessions per week) and equalized volume load had similar effects on measures of physical fitness in active adult males.…”