Acute locomotor, heart rate and neuromuscular responses to added wearable resistance during soccer-specific training.

Investigate acute locomotor, internal (heart rate (HR) and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE)) and neuromuscular responses to using wearable resistance loading for soccer-specific training. Twenty-six footballers from a French 5th division team completed a 9-week parallel-group training intervention (intervention group: Full-training sessions: Relative to the control, the wearable resistance group showed greater total distance (ES [lower, upper limits]: 0.25 [0.06, 0.44]), sprint distance (0.27 [0.08, 0.46]) and mechanical work (0.32 [0.13, 0.51]). Small game simulation (<190 m For full training, wearable resistance induced higher locomotor responses, without affecting internal responses. Locomotor and internal outputs varied in response to game simulation size. Football-specific training with wearable resistance did not impact neuromuscular status differently than unloaded training.