Global Training Effects of Trained and Untrained Muscles With Youth Can be Maintained During 4 Weeks of Detraining

J Strength Cond Res. 2019 Oct;33(10):2788-2800. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002606.

Abstract

Chaouachi, A, Ben Othman, A, Makhlouf, I, Young, JD, Granacher, U, and Behm, DG. Global training effects of trained and untrained muscles with youth can be maintained during 4 weeks of detraining. J Strength Cond Res 33(10): 2788-2800, 2019-Global (whole-body) effects of resistance training (i.e., cross-education) may be pervasive with children. Detraining induces less substantial deficits with children than adults. It was the objective of this study to investigate the global responses to 4 weeks of detraining after 8 weeks of unilateral leg press (LP) training in 10-13-year-old, pre-peak-height-velocity stage boys. Subjects were randomly separated into 2 unilateral resistance training groups (high load/low repetitions [HL-LR] and low load/high repetitions [LL-HR], and control group). Assessments at pre-training, post-training, and detraining included dominant and nondominant limbs, unilateral, 1 repetition maximum (1RM) and 60% 1RM LP, knee extension, knee flexion, elbow flexion, and handgrip maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), and countermovement jump (CMJ). All measures significantly increased from pre-test to detraining for both training programs, except for elbow flexion MVIC with increases only with HL-LR. All measures except CMJ and handgrip MVIC significantly decreased from post-test to detraining, except for elbow flexion MVIC with decreases only with HL-LR. The dominant trained limb experienced significantly greater LP improvements (pre- to detraining) and decrements (post- to detraining) with LP 1RM and 60% 1RM LP. In conclusion, youth HL-LR and LL-HR global training effects of trained and untrained limbs demonstrate similar benefits (pre- to detraining) and decrements (post- to detraining) with detraining. The findings emphasize that training any muscle group in a child can have positive global implications for improved strength and power that can persist over baseline measures for at least a month.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Hand Strength*
  • Humans
  • Isometric Contraction / physiology
  • Male
  • Movement
  • Muscle, Skeletal / physiology*
  • Random Allocation
  • Resistance Training / methods*
  • Weight Lifting / physiology*