Effects of Bilateral and Unilateral Plyometric Training on Physical Performance in Male Postpubertal Basketball Players

Purpose : The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of bilateral and unilateral plyometric-training (PT) programs on jumping, sprinting, and change-of-direction (COD) ability in male postpubertal basketball players. Methods : Forty-three young male basketball players (14.2 [1.2] y), from 4 squads belonging to an elite basketball club, were randomly assigned to 1 of groups: (1) bilateral PT group (BG), (2) unilateral PT group (UG), and (3) control group (CG). The experimental groups followed a PT program twice weekly for 6 weeks, with BG and UG performing 2- and 1-legged jumps, respectively. Both groups completed the same number of vertical, horizontal, cyclic, and acyclic jumps. Pretraining and posttraining measurements included (1) countermovement jump (CMJ), (2) unilateral CMJ (CMJ L and CMJ R ), (3) horizontal jump (HJ), (4) unilateral HJ (HJ L and HJ R ), (5) straight-line sprint in 20 m (T20), and (6) V-Cut COD test (V-Cut). Results : CMJ, CMJ L , and CMJ R were signi fi cantly improved by BG and UG ( P < .001), while CG did not change. Both the BG and the UG improved their performance signi fi cantly ( P < .01) in HJ L and HJ R , but only BG signi fi cantly increased ( P < .05) HJ and showed signi fi cantly greater improvements than CG. Furthermore, only BG improved V-Cut performance ( P = .03). Neither group increased T20. CG did not improve in any tests. Conclusions : BG enhances single-leg and double-leg jump performance in vertical and horizontal directions, as well as COD ability. In contrast, an equivalent volume of unilateral PT only improves vertical jumps and unilateral HJs.