Background and Purpose
Hamstring injuries account for a large percentage of injuries in team sport athletes and time missed due to injury. Risk factors include low eccentric strength and shorter biceps femoris fascicle length, which can be improved through methods such as flywheel training. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of training with a flywheel Romanian deadlift (RDL) to a traditional barbell RDL on hamstring strength in U20 Soccer Players.
Methods
Twenty competitive U20 male soccer players were randomly assigned to perform either flywheel or barbell RDL training twice per week for 6 weeks alongside their normal soccer training. Each session involved 4 sets of 6 working reps at either 80% of predicted 1RM (barbell group) or at the inertial load that resulted in the highest power (flywheel group). Peak force during a Nordic Hamstring exercise and 3RM with a barbell RDL were used as measures of eccentric and concentric hamstring strength, respectively.
Results
The flywheel training group had a significant 13% increase in eccentric hamstring strength, while the barbell group had a smaller, non-significant increase (5%; p = 0.282). Both groups had significant increases in barbell RDL 3RM (flywheel: +18%, barbell: +28%; p<0.05).
Key Takeaways