The influence of physical training modalities on basal metabolic rate and leptin on obese adolescent boys.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of physical training modalities on basal metabolic rate, cardiovascular fitness and serum leptin level in obese adolescent boys. Sixteen obese adolescent boys (age: 16.81 +- 0.91 years) were randomly assigned to either resistance (RTG) (n=8) or endurance (ETG) (n=8) training and followed the respective training programmes for six months (3 days/wk, 60 min/day). Leptin, basal metabolism rate (BMR), and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2max) were evaluated at the beginning and end of the intervention. After the training period, Leptin was decreased and VO2max was increased in both groups (p<0.05), whereas BMR was statistically increased only in ETG (p<0.05). These results indicated that both types of exercises had positive effects on cardiovascular fitness and hormonal control of fat metabolism in obese male adolescents. Resistance exercises should be considered as an alternative or supplementation to endurance exercises in youth obesity management.

The effect of 8-week plyometric training on leg power, jump and sprint performance in female soccer players.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of 8-week plyometric training (PT) on the leg power and jump and sprint performance in female soccer players. Eighteen female soccer players from Women Second League (age = 18.2 ± 2.3 years, height = 161.3 ± 5.4 cm, body mass = 56.6 ± 7.2 kg) were randomly assigned to control (n = 9) and plyometric (n = 9) groups. Both groups continued together with regular technical and tactical soccer training for 4 days a week. Additionally, the plyometric group underwent PT for 8 weeks, 1 day per week, 60-minute session duration. During the 8-week period, the control group was hindered from any additional conditioning training. All players' jumps (triple hop, countermovement jump, and standing broad jump), running speed (20 m), and peak power were evaluated before and after 8 weeks. No significant difference was found between the groups at pretest variables (p > 0.05). Significant improvements were found in the posttest of both the groups (p ≤ 0.05), except for 20-m sprint test in the control group (p > 0.05). Triple hop distance, countermovement jump, standing broad jump, peak power, and 20-m sprint test values were all significantly improved in the plyometric group, compared with the control group (p ≤ 0.05). We concluded that short duration PT is an improved important component of athletic performance in female soccer players. The results indicate that safe, effective, and alternative PT can be useful to strength and conditioning coaches, especially during competition season where less time is available for training.