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

The study compared the effects of six weeks of complex-descending training (CDT), traditional resistance training (RT), and sport-specific training (i.e., active control group [CG]) on measures of physical fitness. Thirty-one female team sport athletes were randomly assigned to either the CDT group (n = 11), the RT group (n = 10), or the CG (n = 10), and were assessed before and after intervention for linear sprint (10 m and 30 m), change of direction sprint (CODS), standing long jump (SLJ), running based anerobic sprint test (peak power, average power), resting heart rate, Cooper 12-min run test, and body fat percentage. ANCOVA with baseline scores as covariates revealed significant between-group differences for 10 m and 30 m linear sprint, CODS, SLJ, and Cooper 12-min run test after the intervention. The further post-hoc tests revealed significant differences between CDT and CG in 10 m and 30 m sprints, CODS and SLJ, with results favoring CDT, and between RT and CG in 10 m linear sprint and Cooper 12-min run test, with results favoring RT. However, no significant differences were observed between CDT and RT in any dependent variable. CDT is effective in improving 10 m and 30 m linear sprints, CODS, and SLJ compared to CG, and RT is effective in improving 10 m sprint and Cooper 12-min run test compared to CG. Therefore, supplementing sport-specific training with either CDT or RT may offer additional benefits in improving specific physical fitness abilities of female team-sport athletes.