Effect of Functional Training on Physical Fitness Among Athletes: A Systematic Review

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This systematic review aims to illuminate the effects of functional training on sprinting, jumping, and functional movements in athletes. A systematic search of electronic databases—that include PubMed, EBSCOhost (Sport Discus), SCOPUS, ProQuest, Google Scholar, and additional references—was carried out using keywords associated with functional training, jumping, sprinting, functional movement skills, and athletes, in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement criteria. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale was used to measure the methodological quality of the studies included in the systematic review. Results: From a total of 220 studies, 15 included ones met all eligibility criteria and were scored between 4-5 points—considered as“ moderate quality”—by the PEDro scale. Most studies recorded positive effects of functional training on athletes’ sprinting, jumping, and functional movement. In contrast, a small number of studies did not find any positive effects of functional training on sprinting, squat jump, vertical jump, and countermovement jump due to the short duration and frequency of the training, as well as the lack of additional exercises that come with the interventions. Furthermore, the reviewed studies reveal that there is limited research within the literature on 5, 15, 25, and 50 m sprinting, squat jump, quadrant jump, and functional movement in athletes. Conclusion: Although the length of training interventions varied across studies in this systematic review, functional training interventions were found to help improve athletes’ performance. The review reveals that training duration, intensity, and frequency are some critical variables that need to be taken into account when developing a successful functional training intervention for athletes. More studies are required to evaluate the influence of different accessible functional training durations on athletes’ sprinting, jumping performance, and functional movement. Finally, further research needs to be done to investigate the impacts of functional training on performance and movement skills of male and female athletes at all levels in other sports.Systematic Review Registration: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2022-5-0130/, identifier INPLASY202250130

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of functional training on sprinting, jumping, and functional movement in athletes: A systematic review

Bashir¹,

Soh²,

Samsudin³

et al. 2022

Self Cite

“…This type of training increased muscle activation when compared to traditional training under stable condition through changes in the surface support. Previous studies well-indicated efficiency of FRT for physical fitness ( Feito et al, 2018 ; Xiao et al, 2021 ) and capabilities ( La Scala Teixeira et al, 2017 ). Nevertheless, the unknown if the FRT protocols would generate changes in arterial stiffness, and the effect of FRT with unstable condition on muscular fitness has not yet been demonstrated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

The Effect of Whole-Body Traditional and Functional Resistance Training on CAVI and Its Association With Muscular Fitness in Untrained Young Men

Zuo

et al. 2022

Background: Resistance training-induced changes in the muscle function is essential for the health promotion of the young and older, but the discrepancies of the effect of resistance training on arterial stiffness leads to the divergence regarding to the effect of resistance training on cardiovascular health. What confuses our understanding in this field may be the following factors: external load (higher intensity vs. lighter intensity), participants’ cardiovascular health, and arterial stiffness assessment measurement. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of the whole-body traditional high-intensity vs. functional low-intensity resistance training protocol on systemic arterial stiffness, and their association with muscular fitness components in untrained young men.Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, twenty-nine untrained young men (mean age about 22.5 years old) were randomized into a 6-weeks (three sessions per week) supervised whole-body traditional high-intensity resistance group (TRT, n = 15) consisting of 4–5 sets of 12 repetitions (70%1RM, lower-repetitions) or a whole-body functional low-intensity resistance group (FRT, n = 14) with 4–5 sets of 20 repetitions (40%1RM, higher-repetitions) to volitional failure. The systemic arterial stiffness (cardio-ankle vascular index, CAVI) and muscular fitness components were assessed before and after the 6-weeks training program.Results: There was a significant decrease (pre-post) for CAVI only in FRT group (p < 0.05), but no significant difference was observed between two groups. In addition, the TRT and FRT groups showed equally significantly increased in maximal strength, muscular endurance and power (within group: both p < 0.01); however, the independent t test exhibited that the difference between two groups in terms of change in maximal strength, muscular endurance and power were no significant (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the reduction in CAVI was negatively correlated with the increase in 1RM of bench press for all participants (r = −0.490, p < 0.01).Conclusion:Using present criterion-standard assessments measurements demonstrates that CAVI was significantly reduced after 6-weeks functional resistance training with beneficial effect on muscular fitness. Negative and significant association between CAVI and 1RM bench press indicated the cardiovascular health may be involved in the regulation of resistance training.

“…Nevertheless, the overall influence of FRT on age-associated arterial stiffness is poorly understood. Functional resistance training involves synchronized, multidimensional, and multiple joint movement modes to train muscles with dynamic exercises and continuous changes on unstable surfaces (e.g., BOSU ball, swish ball, and balance disc) for enhancing physical fitness ( Feito et al, 2018 ), and it has been applied to improve the physical condition and health of players and for the postoperative recovery of patients and young adults ( Kibele and Behm, 2009 ; Xiao et al, 2021 ). Additionally, FRT is the most promising method for promoting multisystemic adaptations because it uses resistance training not only for central body strength gains but also for multiple capabilities (e.g., coordination, agility, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory endurance; La Scala Teixeira et al, 2017 ; de Resende-Neto et al, 2019b ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of 6-Week Traditional and Functional Resistance Training on Arterial Stiffness and Muscular Strength in Healthy Young Men

Zuo

Zhang

et al. 2022

BackgroundThe present study investigated the effects of traditional resistance training (TRT) and functional resistance training (FRT) on arterial stiffness and muscular strength in healthy young men.MethodsThis randomized controlled trial included 29 untrained healthy young men aged 18–29 years who were randomly divided into two groups, namely, TRT group (n = 15) and FRT group (n = 14). All participants underwent numerous tests, such as those for body composition, cardio-ankle vascular index, blood pressure, heart rate, and maximal strength before and after the 6-week training program. The exercise training comprised whole-body strength training exercises 3 days a week for 6 weeks. The total training volume and number of sets (4–5 sets) were kept constantly similar in each group. The TRT group completed 4–5 sets of 8–12 repetitions [70% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM)], whereas the FRT group completed 4–5 sets of 15–22 repetitions (40% 1RM).ResultsThe TRT and FRT groups exhibited equally significantly increased maximal strength (within group: both p < 0.01). Furthermore, the independent t-test showed that the differences between the two groups in terms of changes in maximal strength were no significant (between group: both p > 0.05). Additionally, significant main effects of time (pre vs. post) were observed for the left and right cardio-ankle vascular indices (p < 0.05); however, no significant difference were observed between the groups. For body compositions outcome measures, no significant differences between groups were observed.ConclusionSix weeks of FRT and TRT exhibit no difference in terms of effects on arterial stiffness and muscular strength.