The effect of plyometric training on physical performance characteristics and race times in young female 800-m runners

Objectives. - Although plyometric exercises are one of the best training methods with proven effectiveness in different sports, especially in improving physical performance, no study of young women running 800 m has been found. Therefore, this study examines the effects of plyometric exercises included in the traditional training program on the physical performance and race time of 800-m young female runners. Methods. - Twenty young female (mean age: 16.6 years) 800-m run athletes voluntarily participated in this study. Athletes were randomly assigned a plyometric training group (PTG, n = 10) or a traditional training group (TTG, n = 10). Both TTG and PTG completed an 8-week training protocol of 70 min per day each. PTG performed plyometric training on two non-consecutive days of five days, while TTG performed only traditional training for five days, Before and after the training program, the athletes conducted a series of tests including a 20-m sprint, vertical jump, and 6 x 35-m running anaerobic sprint test (RAST). Results and conclusions. - Both training models induced significant improvements in all parameters tested (P P < 0.05). PTG achieved greater improvement than TTG in vertical jump height (5% vs. 2.45%, P < 0.05), explosive power (7.82% vs. 3.84%, P < 0.05), anaerobic power (5.8% vs. 3.2%, P < 0.05), 20-m sprint (3.47% vs 2.11%, P < 0.05), and race time (1.36% vs. 0.66%). This study revealed that plyometric exercise has a more significant effect than traditional training in improving the physical performance characteristics and competition times of young female athletes running 800 m. (c) 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.