10-week Complex Training for Chinese National Korfball Players

Universiti Sains Malaysia

Status: Completed

Conditions: Physical Fitness; Biomechanical Data; Athlete; Plyometric Exercises; Fitness Training; Athletic Performance

Treatments: Behavioral: 10-week Unilateral Complex Training Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07310498

USM/JEPeM/KK/23110824

Details and patient eligibility

About

Korfball is a mixed-gender team sport that requires high levels of coordination, balance, and physical fitness. Unlike basketball or netball, players cannot dribble or run with the ball, and shots must often be taken in a single-leg, step-back position. These unique demands create challenges for athletes' strength, balance, and injury prevention. Despite korfball's growing popularity, scientific research on the sport's physical, biomechanical, and training characteristics remains limited.

Complex training (CT) is a training method that alternates heavy resistance exercises with plyometric movements. This approach is known to improve strength, power, sprinting, and jumping ability in other team sports. It is especially relevant for unilateral sports movements, which are common in korfball shooting and defensive actions. However, no studies to date have applied CT to korfball athletes, and the effects of such training on their performance, biomechanics, and interlimb asymmetries are unclear.

This study is designed to address three research areas:

To describe the internal and external load characteristics of korfball matches using heart rate monitoring and video-based analysis.

To investigate limb asymmetry in korfball players through assessments of biomechanics, anthropometry, physical fitness, and shooting technique.

To evaluate whether a 10-week unilateral complex training program can reduce limb asymmetry and improve physical fitness and shooting performance in elite players.

The study includes both cross-sectional and interventional components. First, competition loads will be monitored to understand game-specific demands. Second, assessments will compare dominant and non-dominant limbs in terms of strength, biomechanics, and technical performance. Finally, athletes will undergo a 10-week unilateral complex training program, after which the same measures will be repeated to test for improvements.

The expected outcomes are a clearer understanding of the physiological and biomechanical characteristics of korfball players, as well as evidence on the effectiveness of unilateral complex training. This knowledge may guide coaches and practitioners in designing targeted training strategies to enhance performance, reduce injury risk, and optimize athlete development in korfball.

Enrollment: 24 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 35 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Male or female athletes aged 18 to 35 years.
• Selected for the China National Korfball Team or the China Youth National Korfball Team.
• Able to participate in the full training and testing protocol and willing to provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Participation in structured physical training other than korfball training within the previous 6 months.
• History of cruciate ligament injury, fracture, or other significant injury affecting sports performance within the previous 12 months.
• Failed routine musculoskeletal health screening or has unresolved injury/medical condition that precludes safe participation.
• Does not meet baseline strength prerequisites required for safe participation in complex training (combined resistance and plyometric exercises) according to NSCA guidelines.

Additional notes (for study procedures, not eligibility):

-Participants will complete an information questionnaire to document training history and basic characteristics.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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24 participants in 1 patient group

Experimental: 10-week Unilateral Complex Training

Experimental group

Description:

Participants will be stratified by sex into two equally sized groups (male and female). All participants will complete the same 10-week unilateral complex training program, which combines resistance and plyometric exercises within each session. No between-group comparisons are planned; analyses will focus on pre- to post-intervention changes.

Treatment:

Behavioral: 10-week Unilateral Complex Training Program