Examinando por Autor "Kumar, Gopal"

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    Effects of complex-contrast training on physical fitness in male field hockey athletes
    (Sciendo, 2023-01) Thapa, Rohit K.; Kumar, Gopal; Weldon, Anthony; Moran, Jason; Chaabene, Helmi; Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo
    Study aim: This study aimed to examine the effects of a six-week complex-contrast training (CCT) intervention on the physical fitness of male field hockey athletes. Material and methods: Participants were randomized into a CCT (n = 8) or control (CG; n = 6) group. Physical fitness was assessed pre- and post-six-week intervention using a 30 m linear sprint test, medicine ball throw, standing long jump (SLJ), countermovement jump with arm swing (CMJA), modified T-test (MAT), and unilateral isokinetic maximal strength test (knee flexion and extension) of both legs. The six-week CCT intervention was integrated as three weekly sessions within the sport-specific training schedule of field hockey athletes. Each session included four contrast pair exercises (e.g., squat + squat jump). ANCOVA with baseline scores as a covariate was used to analyze the specific training effects. Results: Significant differences between CCT and CG were observed in the 30 m sprint, CMJA, MAT, and isokinetic strength (p < 0.001-0.013) after the intervention, favoring the CCT group. Further, post-hoc analyses revealed significant pre to post improvements in all dependent variables for the CCT group (p < 0.001-0.001; effect size [g] = 0.28-2.65; %Δ= 3.1-16.3), but not in the CG (p = 0.169-0.991; g = 0.00-0.32; %Δ= 0.0-2.6). Conclusion: Supplementing regular field hockey training with CCT is recommended as an effective training strategy to improve the performance of linear sprints, vertical jumps, changes of direction, and muscle strength in amateur male field hockey athletes. © 2023 Rohit K. Thapa et al., published by Sciendo. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
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    Effects of Exercise Frequency with Complex Contrast Training on Measures of Physical Fitness in Active Adult Males
    (Sports, Volume 11, Issue 1 January 2023 Article number 11, 2023) Kumar, Gopal; Pandey, Vivek; Thapa, Rohit K.; Weldon, Anthony; Granacher, Urs; Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo
    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. © 2023 by the authors
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    Effects of Six-Week Pre-Season Complex Contrast Training Intervention on Male Soccer Players' Athletic Performance
    (Sciendo, 2023-09) Kumar, Gopal; Pandey, Vivek; Ramirez-Campillo, Rodrigo; Thapa, Rohit K.
    Introduction. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a six-week complex contrast training (CCT) intervention on the athletic performance of highly-trained amateur male soccer players during the pre-season period. Material and Methods. Participants aged 21.3 were randomized to CCT (n = 7) or active (i.e. standard soccer training) control (CG; n = 9) groups. Athletic performance was assessed using the 30 m linear sprint test time, standing long jump distance (SLJ), countermovement jump (CMJ) height, and unilateral right-left knee flexion and extension isokinetic maximal strength tests. The experimental group replaced part of the standard soccer training schedule with three CCT sessions per week for six weeks. A two (pre-post intervention) by two (CCT, CG) mixed ANOVA was used to analyze the exercise-specific effects. In addition, between-group comparisons at post-test were conducted with baseline scores as covariate. Within group changes were analyzed using paired t-test. Results. Significant group-by-time interaction effects were found for all dependent variables (p < 0.001 - 0.004). Post-hoc tests using paired t-test revealed significant improvements in all dependent variables in CCT (all p ≤ 0.001; effect size (g) = 0.29 - 0.96; %Δ= 4.5 - 14.7), but not in CG (p = 0.174 - 0.633; g = 0.03 - 0.20; %Δ= 0.4 - 2.6). Further, Bonferroni adjusted post-hoc analysis using baseline scores as a covariate showed post-test differences in favor of CCT compared to CG for all variables. Conclusions. CCT is recommended as an effective training strategy during the pre-season to improve athletic performance among highly-trained amateur male soccer players. © 2023 Gopal Kumar et al., published by Sciendo.