The effect of a combined exercise program on different surfaces on gastrocnemius muscle activation in young athletes.

The study did not record which leg was dominant for each athlete, and the results showed different legs responding to different surfaces, making it impossible to know if the findings reflect a true surface effect or an artifact of leg dominance. The exercises were part of the athletes' existing annual training program with only the surface changed, so the results do not show what would happen with exercises specifically designed to target the gastrocnemius. sEMG was recorded only from the medial head of the gastrocnemius; the lateral head was not measured. No clinical trial registration number was obtained. sEMG amplitude changes do not necessarily correspond to functional performance improvements such as faster sprint times or higher jumps. Individual trajectories showed substantial variation, with some athletes not responding at all, meaning group averages may not predict what will happen for a given patient.

The paper does not report any funding sources or conflicts of interest.

Do not conclude that training on sand is superior to training on a hard surface for improving gastrocnemius activation. The interaction effect favoring tartan was limited to the right leg's average activation, and the sand group's improvements on the left leg were not significantly different from the tartan group's. The authors themselves note that activation developed similarly on both surfaces overall.