| Summary: | Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of flywheel resistance training on functional neuromuscular performance in physically active youth. Method Forty-four healthy and physically active youth between 12-14 years of age (n=19 boys & n=25 girls) volunteered to participate and were randomized into three different groups of flywheel resistance training (FRT) (n=15, body mass = 42,9 ± 8,6 kg, time to Peak Height Velocity (PHV) = - 0,8 ± 1,6), traditional strength training (TST) (n=15, body mass = 44,7 ± 10,3 kg, time to PHV = - 0,8 ± 1,5) and a control group (CON) (n=14, body mass = 43,8 ± 9,0 kg, time to PHV- 0,8 ± 1,5. Squat jump (SQ), Countermovement jump (CMJ), 10-m acceleration, 20-m speed and 30-sprint was assessed pre- and post-intervention. All training groups performed 12 resistance training sessions over a 6-week intervention. The FRT-group performed bilateral flywheel resistance squats with 4 sets of 6 repetitions with 0,025 to 0,05 kgm2 and the TST-group performed bilateral barbell squats with 4 sets of 6 repetitions at a predicted 80 %1RM, while the control group only performed their regular sports training. Results Repeated measures two way-ANOVA, 3 x 2 (training group x time), showed no significant mean effects between groups after the intervention. A significant increase occurred in the control group for SQ; 2,4 ± 2,5 (cm) p ≤ 0,008 and CMJ; 2,2 ± 3,1 (cm) p ≤ 0,037. Both training groups increased significantly in body mass from pre- to post-tests by 2,0 ± 2,7 kg for the flywheel training group and 1,3 ± 0,9 kg in the traditional strength training group (p ≤ 0,05). Conclusions This study indicates that flywheel training can be used as a resistance training method for youth athletes without inducing training related injuries. Flywheel resistance training resulted in a small but non-significant increase from pre to post test in squat jump and 10-m sprint. Future studies on flywheel resistance training for youth needs to investigate the implementation of longer training periods, additional training sessions, more experienced youth in resistance training and faster movement speed.
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