Short-Term Compound Training on Physical Performance in Young Soccer Players

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a five-week compound training (with strength and plyometric exercises performed on separate days) on sprint, change of direction, and vertical jump in young soccer players. Eighteen novices in strength and plyometric training were assigned to either a compound training (CMPT) or a control condition (CNT). Both groups trained three times per week. One session was dedicated to soccer-specific drills. The other two weekly sessions were dedicated to circuit-based training routines employing on one-day strength exercises and on the other day plyometric exercises in the CMPT group. At the same time, the CNT group performed two weekly soccer-specific training sessions. All players were tested by 15-m sprint, change-of-direction and acceleration test (CODAT), squat jump, and countermovement jump with arms swing tests. CMPT group improved CODAT, squat jump and countermovement jump to a higher extent compared to CNT group (large vs small or trivial effects, p < 0.05), while both groups had similar 15-m sprint performance (p > 0.05). These results support the use of compound training to improve change of direction and vertical jump performances in young novice soccer players, which are unfamiliar with structured and advanced strength and plyometric training.

Effects of a Six-Week Compound Training (CT) on the Performance of Fundamental Skills in Basketball

Compound training (CT) is the administration of sport-specific training and resistance training in separate training days. This study investigated the effects of a combined six-week resistance training and upper body plyometric program performed along with sport specific training in the performance of fundamental skills in basketball. Fourteen (N= 14) female physical education students (age: 17.6 ± 0.63 years; height: 156.8 ± 5.1 cm) were divided randomly into two groups: the experimental group (EG; n=7) performed a combined six-week strength and plyometric training twice a week for six weeks and two hours of skills training a week and the control group (CG; n=7) performed two hours of skills training a week. Pre-test and post test weight, height, grip strength, vertical jump and upper body strength (1Repetition Maximum) measures were gathered. The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) basketball skills test was administered to the subjects. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed a nonsignificant interaction effect of intervention and test time in all the variables of the study. A six-week compound training posted no significant difference on the physical and performance variables of female physical education students in a beginners’ class in basketball compared to sport-specific training. Key words: compound training, resistance training, plyometrics, basketball skills, sport performance

Appetitive–Aversive Interactions: Superconditioning of Fear by an Appetitive CS

Four groups of rats received conditioned suppression training in which a tone and light compound was reinforced with shock. If the light had been previously paired with free food, enhanced fear conditioning accrued to the tone during compound training relative to control groups pre-exposed to the light alone, the light semi-randomly associated with food, or the light unpaired with food. The second experiment replicated the difference in aversive conditioning for the groups receiving the light either paired or unpaired with food. The results are discussed in terms of the functional similarity of a conditioned excitor for food and a conditioned inhibitor for shock.