Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

Improving Strength, Power, Muscle Aerobic Capacity, and Glucose Tolerance through Short-term Progressive Strength Training Among Elderly People
Published on: July 5, 2017
Reducing resistance training volume during Ramadan improves muscle strength and power in football players
H Rebaï1, H Chtourou2, N Zarrouk3
1Research Unit "Cardio-Circulatory, Respiratory, Metabolic and Hormonal Adaptations", Faculty of Medicine Ibn El Jazzar, Sousse University, Tunisia.
Abstract:
We aimed to examine the effect of maintaining or reducing resistance training volume during Ramadan-intermittent-fasting (RIF) on short-term maximal performances. 20 footballers (age: 18.4 ± 0.8 years; body-mass: 72.4 ± 4.1 kg; height: 183.4 ± 4.6 cm) were matched and randomly assigned to a normal-training-group (G1) or a tapering-group (G2). They were tested for muscular strength (maximal-voluntary-contraction) and power (squat-jump and counter-movement-jump) 1 month before RIF (T0), 1 week before RIF (T1), after 2 weeks of fasting (T2) and at the end of RIF (T3). From T1 to T2, subjects performed a whole-body resistance training program (8-repetitions × 4-sets with 4-min recovery in-between). During RIF, G1 maintained the same training program, while G2 performed a period of reduced training volume (3 sets/exercise; - 22%). Muscle strength and power increased significantly from T0 to T1, from T0 to T2 and from T0 to T3 in G1 and G2 and from T1 to T2 and from T1 to T3 only in G2 (p<0.05). Performance was higher in G2 than G1 during T2 (p<0.01). Moreover, the ∆-change of performance between T0 and T2 and T3 was significantly higher in G2 than G1 (p<0.05). For young soccer players, a tapering period characterized by a reduced training volume during RIF may lead to significant improvement in muscle strength and power.
Related Concept Videos
Exercise and Muscle Performance
Endurance exercises
Endurance exercises involve running, swimming, or cycling, which require repetitive movements with low force output. When a person engages in endurance exercise, a few noticeable changes occur in their skeletal muscles. For instance, the number of capillaries...
Exercise and Cardiac Output
Sustained exercise increases the muscles' oxygen demand, which can be met...
Exercise and Cardiovascular Response
Light to moderate physical activity initiates a series of interconnected responses in the body. The heart rate modestly increases in anticipation of the workout, followed by widespread vasodilation as oxygen consumption by skeletal muscles increases. This results in decreased peripheral resistance, increased capillary blood flow, and accelerated...
Muscle Recovery and Fatigue
Isotonic and Isometric Muscle Contractions
Isotonic contractions
Isotonic contractions occur when a muscle changes length while the...
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...

