ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1678866
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Application of Complex Training in Sports: Theory, Practice, and ImpactView all articles
The Effects of an 8-Week Complex Training Program on Lower Limb Explosive Power and Movement Agility in Adolescent Female Badminton Players
Provisionally accepted
- 1Nanjing Sport Institute, Nanjing, China
- 2Guangzhou College of Commerce, Guangzhou, China
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Background: Badminton requires high-intensity lower limb explosive power and agility for executing rapid lunges, jumps, and directional changes. Complex training (CT) combines heavy resistance exercises with plyometric activities to enhance maximal strength and explosive performance through post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE). However, limited research exists on CT effects in adolescent female badminton players. Objective: To investigate the effects of an 8-week complex training program on lower limb explosive power and movement agility in adolescent female badminton players. Methods: Thirty-two adolescent female badminton players were randomly allocated into complex training group (CT group, n=16, age: 15.69±0.95 years) and resistance training group (RT group, n=16, age: 15.63±1.15 years). The CT group performed resistance exercises (75-85% 1RM) paired with plyometric exercises twice weekly for 8 weeks, while the RT group completed traditional resistance training with the same frequency. Pre-and post-intervention assessments included squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), bilateral and unilateral jumps, sprint tests (5m, 10m, 15m, 20m), hexagon test, modified 505 change of direction (COD) test, on-court COD test, and isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP). Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used for statistical analysis (p<0.05). Results: Significant group×time interactions were observed for SJ, CMJ, unilateral jumps, sprint performance (5m, 10m, 20m), and agility tests (all p<0.05). The CT group showed greater improvements compared to RT group: SJ (1.83cm vs 0.95cm, Cohen's d=1.196 vs 0.642), CMJ (3.64cm vs 1.27cm, Cohen's d=1.949 vs 0.681), 5m sprint (0.18s vs 0.06s improvement, Cohen's d=1.889 vs 0.667), hexagon test (1.29s vs 0.03s improvement), and COD performance. Both groups significantly improved IMTP with no between-group differences (p>0.05). Conclusions: An 8-week complex training program elicited significantly greater improvements in lower limb explosive power, sprint acceleration, and multidirectional agility compared to traditional resistance training in adolescent female badminton players. These findings suggest CT is an effective, sport-specific training intervention that capitalizes on the heightened neuromuscular plasticity of adolescent athletes.
Keywords: Complex training, Adolescent female athletes, badminton, ExplosivePower, agility, Post-activation performance enhancement
Received: 03 Aug 2025; Accepted: 12 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hu, Zhao, Shen and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Min Chen Zhao, 2585000374@qq.com
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