The recognition of high-speed demands in football has led elite academies to prioritize acceleration capabilities for player selection and promotion, particularly given their fundamental role in the motor skills of professional players and their impact on goal-related opportunities. This study explored the effectiveness of game-based versus resisted sprint training methods in enhancing the acceleration abilities of professional women’s football players. Over the entire competitive period, the training load of 26 athletes (24.2 ± 3.7 years) was assessed using GPS devices, and sprint capabilities were evaluated through four 30-m acceleration tests spaced six weeks apart. Linear mixed models (LMMs) analyzed physical load parameters, including distance covered at high speeds, speed events, and maximum speed, with periods and players as fixed and random effects, respectively. Significant sprint performance improvements were observed across all intervals, particularly when high-intensity distance volumes were combined with resisted sprint training. Conversely, high-intensity running without additional stimuli also led to performance gains, albeit to a lesser extent. Both game-based and resisted sprint training methods were effective in enhancing acceleration capabilities, while the absence of specific sprint focus did not significantly alter sprint performance. These findings support the inclusion of tailored sprint training in athletic programs to optimize acceleration in women’s football players.

We analysed the long-term adaptations of resisted sprint training (RST) with combined loads on the performance and kinematics of the maximal velocity (MV). One team women's professional soccer players performed a six-week training programme with progressive sled loading from 20% to 80% of body mass. Pre-training, post-training and detraining measures were obtained for sprint times for 0-20 m, 20-30 m and 0-30 m, while step length (SL), step rate (SR), step velocity, trunk, hip, thigh, knee, shank ankle, foot and centre of mass (CoM) angles were digitised with an 18-point human model. Two points were included: toe-off and touchdown, and both legs ipsilateral and contralateral. Sprint times were significantly reduced in the acceleration and MV phase, with a homogeneous individual response within the group. There were no significant alterations in the angles of the trunk, hip, thigh, knee, shank, ankle and foot across the different tests, nor in SR. Significant alterations in CoM-angle, step velocity and higher SL were observed. RST with progressive of combined loads effectively improved MV performance without causing changes that generated an adverse effect on sprint kinematics. The study offers an RST training programme to enhance sprint performance in professional female soccer.

Resisted sprint training (RST) is widely used to enhance acceleration capacity; however, evidence concerning on long-term effects to RST in professional women’s remains limited. Methods: This study examined the chronic effects of a six-week resisted sled sprint training intervention using a single-group longitudinal pilot design in professional female soccer players. Twenty-two players were assessed at baseline (T1), with fourteen completing the post-intervention assessment (T2) and seven available at the two-month follow-up (T3). Athletes completed one weekly RST session with loading progressively increasing from 20% to 80% of body mass and total sprint volume ranging from 100 to 200 m per session. Sprint performance and kinematic variables of the first three acceleration steps for both limbs were assessed before the intervention, immediately after and at a two-month follow-up. Within-group changes across time were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc comparisons, with the level of significance set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: Sprint times significantly improved following the intervention (T1-T2), with a 2.61% improvement in acceleration performance over the 0-20 m phase. This improvement was accompanied by increases in center of mass projection angle and toe-off distance, resulting in a more forward-oriented sprint posture. At follow-up, sprint performance showed partial retention of these changes. These adaptations were accompanied by greater hip and knee extension of the ipsilateral limb at toe-off, without evidence of adverse sagittal-plane kinematic alterations during the early acceleration phase. Conclusions: The results indicate that once-weekly RST was associated with preliminary improvements in acceleration performance in professional female soccer players and induces technical adaptations that did not appear to negatively affect sprint mechanics during the initial acceleration phase. Given the absence of a control group and the substantial attrition at follow-up, these findings should be interpreted as exploratory.

This article originates from the work conducted for the Bachelor’s Final Project in Physiotherapy at the Faculty of Health Sciences of Rey Juan Carlos University. It addresses, through physical activities, the search for techniques aimed at the recovery of individuals affected by a cerebrovascular accident. The study involved a research process aimed at evaluating the impact of a physiotherapy program on the upper limb of a young adult who had suffered a stroke, through the application of functional electrical stimulation and virtual reality in combination with training using the Nintendo Wii® console.

This study examined the effects of a resisted sprint training program incorporating combined loads on sprint performance and kinematic variables. Assessments were conducted before and after the intervention under both unloaded conditions and multiple loading protocols, with a specific focus on the acceleration phase. One team of women’s professional soccer players completed a 6-week training program with progressive sled loading from 20% to 80% body mass (BM). Sprint times over 20 m and kinematic parameters were measured under four loading conditions: 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% BM. Step length and hip, thigh, knee, shank, and ankle angles were analyzed using an 18-point human body model. Two moments were included: toe-off and touchdown (ipsilateral and contralateral). Significant increases in step length and reduction in sprint times were observed across all loads. The 0% BM load induced significantly higher hip extension by thigh angle; 25% BM induced significantly increased plantar flexion through the ankle angle; and 75% BM induced significantly higher hip flexion through the hip and thigh angles, higher knee extension via thigh and knee angles, and better body orientation through the shank angle. Resisted sprint training can induce changes in kinematics of both free and loaded sprinting, maximize the range of motion, and improve acceleration performance without impairing free sprint technique.