The effect of two different warm-up methods on vertical jump and balance in professional taekwondo athletes

In sports science, the warm-up routine is crucial for preparing athletes both physically and mentally to achieve peak performance. Although there is general agreement among researchers about the beneficial impact of warm-up exercises on athletic performance, discussions continue about the optimal components of these routines. This study aims to investigate the impact of chronic static stretching and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching techniques, implemented during the warm-up phase over an 8-week period, on the explosive power and static balance of professional taekwondo athletes. Thirty taekwondo practitioners aged 18-25 years volunteered for this cross-sectional study. Explosive power was assessed using the vertical jump test, and static balance was measured with the flamingo balance test. Data analysis was conducted with the IBM Statistics (SPSS version 26.0, Armonk, NY) software package. The results revealed no statistically significant differences in the balance and explosive power performance of the athletes, neither between the pre-test and post-test scores nor between the different groups (p>0.05). Thus, it can be concluded that static and PNF stretching techniques performed during the warm-up phase over an 8-week period did not significantly influence the explosive power and balance of the taekwondo athletes. Consequently, the study implies that solely relying on static or PNF stretching techniques in warm-up routines might not be adequate for enhancing the explosive power and balance of professional taekwondo athletes. Future research should explore more comprehensive warm-up protocols to boost athletic performance.