The effect of plyometric training program on anaerobic power and isokinetic muscle strength in young swimmers

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of plyometric training program on anaerobic power and isokinetic muscle strength in young swimmers. A total of 20 young male swimmers between the ages of 18-21 who were doing regular swimming training participated in the study. The subjects were randomly divided into two different groups: experimental group (n:10, age: 20.21 ± 2.71) and control group (n:10, age: 19.22 ± 2.24). The experimental group underwent plyometric training program 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Both groups continued their swimming training during the season. Anaerobic power and isokinetic muscle strength values were measured before and after plyometric training. An isokinetic dynamometer (CSMI Cybex Humac Norm, USA) was used to determine the subjects' dominant leg isokinetic peak torque forces and H/Q peak torque ratio. Isokinetic force measurements were made between 60o/s-1 and 180o/s- angular speeds. Each movement angle was performed with 10 repetitions and 45-second rest intervals. Vertical jump test was used to measure anaerobic power. SPSS 22.0 package program was used to analyze the data. Shapiro-Wilk test was applied for normality test. Paired Samples T Test was applied for intra-group comparisons. The significance level was determined as p<0.05. Significance was found in the anaerobic power and isokinetic muscle strength values of the experimental group after the plyometric training program (p<0.05). There was no significance in the values of the control group (p>0.05). As a result, it can be said that the 6-week plyometric training program applied to young swimmers has a positive effect on anaerobic power and isokinetic muscle strength values. Keywords: Swimming, Plyometric Training, Isokinetic muscle strength.