Effectiveness of warm-up with lower limb wearable resistance on sprint performance and perceived exertion in adolescent soccer players: a crossover study

Purpose. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a wearable resistance (WR) warm-up applied to the lower limbs as a preconditioning strategy for enhancing sprint performance in adolescent soccer players. Methods. Twenty elite male soccer players (< 15 years old) were randomly assigned to either a passive rest control group or one of three WR warm-up conditions: no load (WR-0), 5% body mass (WR-5), and 10% body mass (WR-10). The WR warm-up was conducted after a 20-m sprint task with the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) assessment. Other sprint tasks with RPE were conducted after the WR warm-up (before the game) and at the 5th and 45th min of the soccer game. Results. The WR-0, WR-5, and WR-10 groups exhibited significantly higher RPE values post-WR warm-up than the control group (p = 0.02). At the 5th min of the game, the WR-5 and WR-10 groups reported significantly higher RPE values than the WR-0 and control groups (p = 0.001). Regarding sprint performance, the control and WR-0 groups recorded higher sprint times than the WR-5 and WR-10 groups at both the 5th min (p = 0.049) and the 45th min (p = 0.04) of play. Conclusions. Preconditioning with a 5–10% body mass WR effectively enhances sprint performance in adolescent soccer players. Furthermore, incorporating a WR warm-up routine can optimise sprint performance without overloading adolescent athletes during training sessions.