Fig 1.
Study design.
Table 1.
Group characteristics at baseline.
Fig 2.
Ergometer and dynamometer used to test isometric leg strength.
(A) Custom-made ergometer for the isometric maximal voluntary contraction during knee extension. The participant’s left ankle was attached to the ergometer’s lever arm about 3 cm above the lateral malleolus. Adjustable straps and pads on the chest and hip were used to minimize extraneous body movements. (B) Custom-made ankle dynamometer for the isometric maximal voluntary contraction during plantar flexion. The participant’s foot was fixed to the bottom plate with a strap to prevent plantar extension. The position of the knee was fixed with a clamp to prevent the lifting of the heel. Figure adapted with permission from Kümmel et al., [24].
Table 2.
Detailed parameters of the training sessions.
Fig 3.
Changes in aerobic capacity as well as lower extremity strength.
Results of the pre-tests in white, and post-tests in grey; data refer to group mean and SD. (A) relative , (B) Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) during knee extension (KE), (C) MVC during plantar flexion (PF). The * symbols denote significant differences between pre-and post-values (Bonferroni-corrected post hoc tests).
Table 3.
Aerobic exercise capacity, leg strength, and jump performance.
Fig 4.
Average rated perceived exertion (RPE, mean and SD) for the two training groups during the 18 training sessions.
Data for the jump training group is shown in black, and data for the running training group is in grey. Ø = on top of the training session denotes the jump training sessions with continuous jumps. n.s. = denotes training sessions with no significant differences in RPE between JT and RT (evaluated with independent-samples t-tests).