Abstract:
The purpose of this research was to compare the differences between circuit training and the consumption of chocolate dairy products on anaerobic performance and leg muscle strength in football players. The subjects were ten healthy male football players from a football team of a secondary school based in the Northeast of Thailand who were aged between 16-18 years old. The research was carried out via simple random sampling together with inclusion criteria which was their similar muscle aptitude and leg muscle strength. All participants joined in a three days a week program which took place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 8 weeks. The participants practiced for 90 minutes and each participant received 5 ml of chocolate milk per 1 kg supplement which was repeated every 30 minutes before the practice. The anaerobic performance and legs strength measurement occurred after the 4th and 8th week of training, the data was statistically analyzed by Median, Interquartile range and Non-parametric testing methodology as well as the Wilcoxon Sign-Rank test.
The key findings of the research:
1. The circuit training in combination with chocolate milk flavor supplement leads to the player having an increased anaerobic capacity and leg muscles strength in football players.
2. The results after the 8th week revealed a statistically significant increase in anaerobic performance and also leg muscle strength was substantially higher than the result of performance after the 4th week at p-value 0.05.
In conclusion, it was found that chocolate milk consumption leads to an increased anaerobic performance together with leg muscle strength in football players through reduced fatigue; as well as index improvements in the endurance of the circulatory system. In addition, chocolate milk can reduce fatigue caused by lactic acid accumulation leading to efficient oxygen metabolism. Furthermore, an extension of time can provide later fatigue sign that would lead to better anaerobic performances. These findings can be used as an alternative procedure to develop the higher potential of the athlete.