Effects of off-season strength and plyometric training programmes on isokinetic strength and javelin throwing performance

Abstract

A challenge created by the school environment is to develop a training programme for athletes with continuous progression in order to achieve improved performance. This lack of continuous progression leads to overtraining, overuse injuries, limited performance capabilities and ineffective maintenance of sport-specific seasonal programmes. As such, the aim of the study was to determine whether an off-season strength and plyometric training programme could enhance isokinetic strength and javelin throwing performance in high-school athletes. Twenty athletes, aged 16 to 19 years, who had at least one year of throwing technique training, were assigned to either a control group (n = 10) or a progressive, three-times a week, six-week training strength and plyometric training programme (n = 10). The best throwing performance from the previous season’s athletic competitions was recorded in metres (m) to the nearest 0.1 centimetres and compared to the best throwing performance recorded following the training programme. The results of the present study showed a significant (p strength, but also throwing performance in high-school athletes.