Effectiveness of lower limb antigravity muscle strengthening in recreational footballers. A comparative study

Introduction. The study investigates the effectiveness of lower limb antigravity muscle strengthening exercises versus conventional exercises among recreational football players. Enhancing endurance and agility is critical for performance in football, making it essential to identify optimal training methods. Aim of the study. To evaluate and compare the effects of lower limb antigravity muscle strengthening and conventional exercise on endurance and agility in recreational football players. Materials and methods. This experimental study involved 56 recreational football players selected from Saveetha University using convenient sampling. Participants were randomized into two groups: 1. Lower limb antigravity muscle strengthening group. Engaged in targeted exercises (lunges with dumbbells, reverse Nordic curls, dumbbell squat thrusts, agility T-drills, and single-leg box jumps) for 5 days a week over 6 weeks. 2. Conventional exercise group. Performed traditional exercises (squats, lunges, calf raises, step-ups, and crunches) under the same schedule. Each group underwent a 5-minute warm-up and cool-down. Outcome measures included the 30 Seconds Endurance Jump Test and the Agility T Test, which were assessed post-intervention. Results. The results indicated that the conventional group's post-test mean endurance was 38.71, while the antigravity muscle strengthening group achieved 42.68. For agility, the conventional group scored 11.8282, compared to 10.64957 for the antigravity group. Both interventions showed significant improvements with p-values less than 0.0001. Conclusion. Both training methods led to positive enhancements in endurance and agility, with the lower limb antigravity muscle strengthening group demonstrating superior results. This suggests that integrating both training styles may optimize performance for recreational football players.