Strength in Sports: Foundations, Adaptive Mechanisms, and Contemporary Training Approaches
Acceptance: 04/05/2026
Published: 13/06/2026
Abstract
Strength is a core component of physical fitness and a major determinant of sports performance, injury prevention, and rehabilitation. In sport science, strength refers to the ability of the neuromuscular system to produce force against external or internal resistance. It includes maximal, relative, explosive, reactive, isometric, isokinetic, concentric, eccentric, static, dynamic, and functional forms. This review summarizes the conceptual, physiological, hormonal, morphological, and mitochondrial bases of strength in sports. It also examines fundamental and contemporary strength development methods, including free-weight training, isometric training, isokinetic training, plyometrics, velocity-based training, flywheel training, blood-flow restriction training, PNF, water-resistance training, vector-oriented training, and perturbation-based approaches. Current literature supports strength training as a performance-enhancing and injury-preventive intervention when load, volume, velocity, movement pattern, recovery, and sport specificity are appropriately managed. However, excessive hypertrophy, poorly planned heavy lifting, inadequate mobility, and failure to train rate of force development may compromise speed and movement quality. Therefore, strength development should be individualized, evidence-based, legally supported, and integrated with technical, tactical, speed, and conditioning demands of sport.
Author Name:
Shaybal Chanda , Jitendra Pratap Singh , Ummay Hafsa Rumky
Pages:
365-371
DOI Number:
10.5281/zenodo.20678800
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Writer Name
Shaybal Chanda , Jitendra Pratap Singh , Ummay Hafsa Rumky
Pages
365-371
DOI Numbers
10.5281/zenodo.20678800
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