Acute effect of three functional fitness training designs with equalized load on inexperienced and experienced athletes.

BACKGROUND

In the realm of functional fitness training (FFT), three common circuits-as many repetitions or round as possible (AMRAP), for time (FT), and every minute on a minute (EMOM)-are prevalent. We aimed to elucidate the immediate impacts on athletes, considering the experience, when performing three workout modalities with matched training loads.

METHODS

Twenty-five healthy men and women, with at least three months of experience in FFT, were allocated into the Inexperienced group (IG) and Experienced group (EG). The cut point for allocating participant in each group was set at 24 months. All of them participated in three workouts (AMRAP, FT and EMOM) with three days of rest. A double comparison was performed between level of experience (IG and EG) and among kinds of training in rating of perceived exertion (RPE), lactate concentration (LAC), countermovement jump (CMJ), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) using ANOVA and Bonferroni tests.

RESULTS

Sex was initially analyzed but had no influence, leading to combined group analyses. The workout type significantly impacted performance, with AMRAP showing differences between expertise levels (ES = 0.81,  = .044). RPE varied by workout type ((2,46) = 11.003;  < .001), with EG reporting FT as the most and EMOM as the least demanding. Lactate levels increased across all workouts, with FT showing the highest and EMOM the lowest levels ( = 1.05,  < .001). CMJ performance declined post-AMRAP and FT in both groups, but not after EMOM. No expertise-level differences were found in HRmean or HRmax, but HRV changes were influenced by workout type ((2,46) = 7.381;  < .01) and expertise ((1,23) = 4.657;  = .034), with significant decreases in HRV after AMRAP and FT for IG.

CONCLUSION

The study demonstrates that FT produced greater LAC and RPE as compared to an AMRAP, whereas EMOM generated less neuromuscular fatigue and Lac, particularly in EG. These results underscore the importance of individualizing workout selection to expertise level to optimize performance. Future research should explore longitudinal adaptation to different workout types across diverse populations.