Affiliation:
1. Tunisian Research Laboratory “Sport Performance Optimisation” National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports, Tunis, Tunisia;
2. School of Human Kinetics and Recreation, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada;
3. Department of Physical Education, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Federal University of Sergipe, São Cristóvão, Brazil;
4. High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, Ksar-Said, Manouba University, Tunis, Tunisia; and
5. Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract
Abstract
Ben Othman, A, Anvar, SH, Aragão-Santos, JC, Behm, DG, and Chaouachi, A. Relative cross-education training effects of male youth exceed male adults. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2024—Cross-education has been studied extensively with adults, examining the training effects on contralateral homologous muscles. There is less information on the cross-education effects on contralateral heterologous muscles and scant information comparing these responses between adults and youth. The objective was to compare cross-education training effects in male youth and adults to contralateral homologous and heterologous muscles. Forty-two male children (10–13-years) and 42 adults (18–21-years) were tested before and following an 8-week unilateral, dominant or nondominant arm, chest press (CP) training program or control group (14 subjects each). Unilateral testing assessed dominant and nondominant limb strength with leg press and CP 1 repetition maximum (1RM), knee extensors, elbow extensors (EE), elbow flexors, and handgrip maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) strength and shot put distance and countermovement jump height. Upper-body tests demonstrated large magnitude increases, with children overall exceeding adults (p = 0.05—p < 0.0001, η
2: 0.51, 10.4 ± 11.1%). The dominant trained limb showed significantly higher training adaptations than the nondominant limb for the adults with CP 1RM (p = 0.03, η
2: 0.26, 6.7 ± 11.5%) and EE (p = 0.008, η
2: 0.27, 8.8 ± 10.3%) MVIC force. Unilateral CP training induced significantly greater training adaptations with the ipsilateral vs. contralateral limb (p = 0.008, η
2: 0.93, 27.8 ± 12.7%). In conclusion, children demonstrated greater training adaptations than adults, upper-body strength increased with no significant lower-body improvements, and ipsilateral training effects were greater than contralateral training in adults.
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Subject
Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation,Orthopedics and Sports Medicine,General Medicine