Effect of twelve weeks plyometric training on leg explosive strength for 14 to 19 year old athletes

Abstract

Introduction: Plyometric training helps athletes to build muscle power. Several studies on the different sports disciplines proved that plyometric training activates the stretch reflex mechanism in the muscle and improves the leg explosive strength. The goal of this study was to determine whether systematic plyometric training improved explosive leg strength.Objective: To know the effect of plyometric training on leg explosive strength for 14–19-year-old athletes. Methods: Forty state level athletes (Age:15±2.37 years, Height:160±6.9cm, Weight:50±7.4 kg) from Barasat Athletic Club, North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India, were purposively selected as subjects for the present study. The subjects (n=40) were randomly assigned to three groups of ten subjects each groups- Group-I, II, III: Experimental (sprinters, jumpers and throwers) Group and Group-IV: Control Group which was formed randomly by taking 10 subjects. Pre-test was conducted for all the subjects on selected leg explosive strength (power) parameters. The leg explosive strength (power) parameters were measured by standing broad jump (meter) Test. The initial test score formed the pre-test score for the subjects. Experimental Groups-I, II, III (sprinter, jumper, thrower) were exposed to plyometric training (hurdles hops, squat jump, box jump, depth jump) and while the Control Group was not exposed to plyometric training other than their regular daily activities. The duration of the experimental period was 12 weeks. After the experimental treatment, all forty subjects in the form of three experimental and one control group were tested on leg explosive strength (power) parameters. These final test scores formed the post-test. The pre-test and post-test scores were subjected to statistical analysis using the t-test. The level of significance was judged at 0.05 level of significance. Result and Discussion: The above table indicates a significant difference between pre-test and post-test leg explosive strength (power) performance for the experimental group (sprinters, jumpers and throwers) who were involved in the plyometric training programme, whereas the table indicates an insignificant difference for the control group. Conclusion: After twelve weeks of plyometric training compares the experimental group with control group; the results showed that the plyometric training was more effective for the all experimental groups. The plyometric training of twelve weeks training duration leads to a significant effect on the leg explosive strength of 14-19 year old athletes.