Effects of Resistance Training on Lower Limb Mechanical Muscle Function and Sports Specific Performance in Elite Female Team Handball Players

The study aims to examine how an eight-week heavy-load resistance training regimen affects both mechanical muscle function and functional performance in elite female team handball players. Given the sport's demands for rapid and forceful muscle actions, understanding the impact of such training on functional performance is crucial.

Players from four clubs in the Danish Women's Handball League, will be randomly block randomized (one block=one club) into two groups: the heavy-load resistance training group (RT), and the control group (CON). Each group contains players from 2 clubs. The study will conduct a battery of tests to evaluate various aspects of mechanical muscle function and performance, including isometric knee extensor and flexor peak torque, countermovement jump (CMJ) power/work, and functional measures like sprinting, jump height, and agility performance.