Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Apr 15:19417381251331607.
doi: 10.1177/19417381251331607. Online ahead of print.

Influence of Resistance Training Variables and the Nordic Hamstring Exercise on Biceps Femoris Architectural Adaptations in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review

Javier Pecci  1 , Borja Sañudo  1 , Rodrigo Ramirez-Campillo  2   3 , Eduardo Saez de Villarreal  4
Affiliations
Review

Influence of Resistance Training Variables and the Nordic Hamstring Exercise on Biceps Femoris Architectural Adaptations in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review

Javier Pecci et al. Sports Health. .

Abstract

Context: Manipulation of resistance training variables influences the structural and functional adaptations of muscle, having a great impact on sport performance and hamstring injury prevention.

Objective: To analyze how the main resistance training variables affect the biceps femoris long head architecture in soccer players.

Data sources: Five databases were searched from inception to January 2024.

Study selection: Studies that included training intervention groups and measured muscle architecture adaptations before and after the training program in soccer players were included.

Study design: Systematic review with meta-analysis.

Level of evidence: Level 2.

Data extraction: Muscle thickness, fascicle length, and pennation angle were extracted from included studies as main outcomes.

Results: Six studies and 12 training groups (168 participants) were analyzed. The effects of Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) against soccer interventions, volume of training, and frequency of training as independent variables were analyzed. NHE significantly improved biceps femoris long head fascicle length (P = 0.01). Training twice a week did not show significant differences compared with training once a week. Higher volumes of training (ie, >290 repetitions) in a period of 6 to 12 weeks with 57 repetitions per week demonstrated significant effects.

Conclusion: NHE lengthens the fascicle, especially if a sufficient volume (ie, >290 repetitions) and 2 days per week are performed. It is still unknown how the programming of some fundamental variables such as intensity, degree of effort, or exercise selection affects the muscle architecture of the biceps femoris long head.

Keywords: fascicle length; muscle architecture; muscle thickness; pennation angle; strength.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no potential conflicts of interest in the development and publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow chart of the study selection process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aggarwal R, Ranganathan P. Study designs: part 4 - interventional studies. Perspect Clin Res. 2019;10(3):137-139. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al Attar WSA, Soomro N, Sinclair PJ, Pappas E, Sanders RH. Effect of injury prevention programs that include the Nordic hamstring exercise on hamstring injury rates in soccer players: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2017;47(5):907-916. - PubMed
    1. Blazevich AJ, Cannavan D, Coleman DR, Horne S. Influence of concentric and eccentric resistance training on architectural adaptation in human quadriceps muscles. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2007;103(5):1565-1575. - PubMed
    1. Cadu J-P, Goreau V, Lacourpaille L. A very low volume of Nordic hamstring exercise increases maximal eccentric strength and reduces hamstring injury rate in professional soccer players. J Sport Rehabil. 2022;31(8):1061-1066. - PubMed
    1. Cumpston M, Li T, Page MJ, et al.. Updated guidance for trusted systematic reviews: a new edition of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019;10(10):ED000142. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources