The effect of a 6-week plyometric training on agility, jump height, and dynamic balance in young artistic and rhythmic gymnasts

Background: Artistic gymnastics (AG) and rhythmic gymnastics (RG) are sports characterized by rapid contraction of muscles in the lower limbs while performing skills, requiring a high level of physical fitness. Agility, strength and balance are some of the basic abilities for successful performance. Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of a 6-week plyometric training on agility, jump height, and dynamic balance in young artistic and rhythmic gymnasts. Methods: Forty-eight young female gymnasts, aged 9 to 11, participated in the study. They were divided into two equal groups, experimental (EG) and control (CG). The EG participated in a 6-week plyometric training (PT) in addition to a conventional training program. Results: A 2 (sport) x 2 (group) x 2 (time) analysis of variance was used to examine the effects and their interactions for sport (RG x AG), group (EG x CG) and time (pre x post) on the dependent variables for agility, jump height, and dynamic balance. Statistical analysis showed a significant group effect of time and significant group x time interaction for all dependent variables. Conclusions: Results revealed that 9-11-year-old female artistic and rhythmic gymnasts may be greatly benefited by PT. In fact, it appears that traditional gymnastics training completed with a supervised and well-designed PT protocol may lead to improving motor abilities directly related to the performance of routines in female gymnasts in RG and AG compared to gymnastic practice alone in this age group.