Manipulating Resistance Exercise Variables to Improve Jumps, Sprints, and Changes of Direction in Soccer: What We...

The present review summarizes the effects of manipulating different resistance exercise variables on jumps, sprints, and changes of direction (CODs) in soccer. Regarding jumps, moderate-to-high loads, full range of movement (ROM), non-failure sets, and a moderate training volume are recommended. Different external resistances like constant-load, flywheel, or elastic bands, as well as various movement velocities and select exercises, are equally effective. As for sprints, moderate-to-high loads, constant load or flywheel but not elastic resistances, movements performed at full ROM, non-failure sets, and moderate-to-high training volume might be more effective, while numerous movement velocities and exercises could be chosen. As for CODs, moderate-to-high loads, flywheel more than constant-load resistance, and a moderate-to-high total number of repetitions are recommended, while several movement velocities and exercises could be selected, though ROM needs investigation. The effectiveness of concentric-only vs. eccentric-only training on jumps, sprints, and CODs has not been investigated, while an external focus and inter-set rest > 2 min are theoretically preferable, albeit not proven. Importantly, high movement velocity is not a prerogative of effectiveness, and limited ROM is not associated with sport-specific patterns such as jumps. Practitioners in soccer may manipulate resistance exercise variables depending on the purpose.