Acute muscular hypertrophy responses to the time-efficient training method in adolescent football players

Introduction: Considering that muscular growth is essential for athletic performance, clarifying the immediate reactions to various resistance training techniques in adolescent football players presents significant opportunities for enhancing training programs. Objective: This study investigates the acute muscular hypertrophy responses to the drop-set and rest-pause-set training methods in adolescent football players. Methodology: Employing a crossover experimental design, muscle thickness differences in the vastus lateralis were assessed, utilizing B-mode ultrasound scans prior to and after each training intervention. Participants underwent superset, drop-set, and rest-pause-set protocols, with a one-week recovery interspersing the sessions. Results: Results indicated changes in muscle thickness. However, statistical analysis revealed no significant differences among the interventions, p = 0.19. Observed variations of 1.31%, 3.11%, and 1.29% in muscle thickness from superset, drop-set, and rest-pause-set methods. Discussion: Even the trend in the drop-set training method suggests that it could inform chronic muscular hypertrophy responses, but the absence of notable statistical differences in muscle thickness among the three training modalities prompts critical considerations for next research in resistance training, particularly with hypertrophy-related methods in adolescent athletes. Conclusions: While this study found no statistically significant differences in vastus lateralis muscle thickness among the superset, drop-set, and rest-pause resistance training methods in adolescent football players, the acute hypertrophic responses suggest a positive tendency for the drop-set approach. The implications of these findings could assist coaches and trainers in optimizing training protocols for hypertrophy in adolescents.