Effects of land-based and aquatic plyometric training on lower-limb power and flexibility in young male basketball players.

backgroundBasketball is a high-intensity sport that often results in lower extremity muscle and tendon injuries due to its rapid tempo and complex movement mechanics. Consequently, plyometric exercises are widely implemented in basketball training programs to enhance athletic performance and reduce the risk of injury. Recently, however, the benefits and drawbacks of plyometrics performed in various conditions have been widely debated. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of land- and aquatic-based plyometric training on lower-limb performance parameters including jumping, sprinting, agility, and flexibility in young male basketball players.

methodsA total of 32 male basketball players aged 15.15 ± 0.807 years participated in the study. Participants were assigned to one of four groups: aquatic vertical plyometric (AVP, n = 8), land-based vertical plyometric (LVP, n = 8), land-based horizontal plyometric (LHP, n = 8), and a control group (CG, n = 8). The training program was conducted three days per week for eight weeks, with each session lasting approximately 90 min in total, including warm-up, plyometric exercises, and cool-down phases. The sit-and-reach, standing long jump, vertical jump, 30 m sprint, RAST, agility T-test, and lane agility tests were administered before and after the intervention.

resultsSignificant improvements were found in flexibility performance in the aquatic vertical plyometric group (+ 1.62 cm, + 4.8%; p = 0.001). The land-based horizontal plyometric group showed a significant increase in standing long jump performance (+ 0.05 m, + 2.3%; p = 0.006). In the land-based vertical plyometric group, agility performance improved significantly, as evidenced by reductions in both lane agility test time (- 0.07 s, - 0.6%; p = 0.035) and agility T-test time (- 0.62 s, - 6.1%; p = 0.015). No statistically significant improvement was detected in vertical jump performance in the aquatic group (+ 0.71 cm, + 1.8%; p > 0.05). Between-group analysis revealed a significant post-test difference in RAST fatigue index values (ANCOVA, p = 0.021), indicating differential training responses among the intervention groups.

conclusionsThe study demonstrated that plyometric training can effectively improve specific anaerobic performance parameters in young basketball players. Among the examined methods, aquatic plyometric training produced more favorable outcomes in flexibility and fatigue-related parameters and may represent a potentially lower-impact training alternative for young athletes.