Assessing Physical Performance in Male and Female National Kho-Kho Players Following Intensive Functional Training

All players underwent a rigorous 2-week intensive short-term functional strength training program, with training sessions held for 5 days a week. One group engaged in intensive short-term functional strength training exercises, while the other group focused on balance training. The training regimen was then reversed for the two groups. Each daily training session lasted approximately 2 hours, with 1 hour of either intensive short-term functional strength training or balance training. Every intensive short-term functional strength training session spanned roughly 60 minutes, starting with a 10-minute warm-up followed by dynamic mobility exercises targeting key joints. During the 40-minute core segment of our intensive short-term functional strength training sessions, participants first engaged in stability exercises for 10 minutes, focusing on core stability and balance through plank variations and stability.

Participants first engaged in stability exercises for 10 minutes, focusing on core stability and balance through plank variations and stability ball exercises. This was followed by 15 minutes of multi-joint strength exercises, where athletes performed compound movements like squats, deadlifts, push-ups or bench presses, and pull-ups or lat pull-downs, each for t sets of 8-10 repetitions. The session concluded with 15 minutes of agility and coordination drills, incorporating high-intensity activities such as lateral sprints and rope pulling, specifically designed to improve quickness and neuromuscular coordination, thereby enhancing overall athletic performance. The session concluded with a 10-minute cooldown involving flexibility exercises for the limbs and trunk. Exercise intensity was regulated to correspond with a 6-7 on the repetitions in the reserve-based Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale, where a s indicates that the exerciser feels they could perform approximately.