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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1472258
This article is part of the Research Topic Precision Exercise Prescription: Data-Driven Strategies for Neuromuscular and Cardiovascular Training Across Athletes, Healthy Individuals and Chronic Disease Populations View all 4 articles

Effects of Variable Resistance Training within Complex Training on Strength and Punch performance in Elite Amateur Boxers

Provisionally accepted
Yongfu Liu Yongfu Liu 1Zijing Huang Zijing Huang 2Zixiang Zhou Zixiang Zhou 2Liqin Zhang Liqin Zhang 3Yuqiang Guo Yuqiang Guo 2Chao Chen Chao Chen 4*
  • 1 Chinese Boxing Federation, Beijing, China
  • 2 School of Athletic Performance, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
  • 3 Inner Mongolia Institute of Sport Science, Hohhot, China
  • 4 College of Physical Education, Dalian University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives: This study explored the effects of six weeks of variable resistance training (VRT) and constant resistance training (CRT) within complex training, on muscle strength and punch performance.Methods: Twenty-four elite female boxers from the China National team were divided randomly between an experimental group (VRT) and a control group (CRT). Maximum strength of the upper and lower limbs, countermovement jump (CMJ) performance, and punch performance (single, 10s and 30s continuous) were assessed pre-and post-intervention.Results: VRT and CRT showed significant increases (p < 0.001) in the bench press (ES = 1.79 and 1.07, respectively), squat (ES = 1.77 and 1.10, respectively), and CMJ (ES = 1.13 and 0.75, respectively). The bench press (p < 0.05) and squat (p < 0.05) improved significantly more following VRT compared to CRT. Additionally, single punch performance (speed, force, and power) increased significantly in the experimental group (ES = 1.17 -1.79) and in the control group (ES = 0.58 -1.32), except for the lead punch force in the control group (p > 0.05, ES = 0.20). 10s continuous punch performance (number, speed, force, and power) increased significantly (both p < 0.05) in the experimental group (ES = 0.52 -1.65) and in the control group (ES = 0.32 -0.81). 30s continuous punch performance (number, force, and power) increased significantly increased significantly (both p < 0.05). However, no statistically significant differences were found between groups for punch performance.Conclusions: These findings provide evidence that VRT may improve maximum muscle strength in both upper and lower limbs, vertical jump and punch performance in elite amateur boxers.

    Keywords: Variable Resistance, Complex training, Muscle Strength, punch ability, Athletic Performance

    Received: 29 Jul 2024; Accepted: 04 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Huang, Zhou, Zhang, Guo and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Chao Chen, College of Physical Education, Dalian University, Dalian, 130012, Liaoning Province, China

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