Effect of plyometric and isometric training on the explosive force of handball athletes

Abstract

Plyometrics uses the reactive capacity of the neuromuscular system to increase the power of movement from an eccentric to a concentric contraction. Isometry refers to a static mode of training, ie there is no change in muscle fiber length. Handball is a collective sport that involves a large amount and variety of movement associated with ball manipulation and interaction with other athletes. In terms of movement, handball can be considered a complete sport because it uses a rich combination of fundamental and "natural" motor skills of the human motor repertoire. The aim of this research is to analyze the influence of a 4 week plyometric and isometric training on the explosive strength of young handball athletes. The sample consisted of 10 women, with an average age of 16.1 ± 0.56 years, who had been practicing handball for at least three months. The evaluation protocol used was: horizontal jump (HS) to measure lower limb explosive strength. The girls were divided into two statistically equal groups, the plyometric group (GP) and the isometric group (GI). Data were analyzed using paired t-test and Effect Size, as well as the Proesp manual. Initially the tests presented the following results: GP showed 1.32 ± 0.13m in HS and GI 1.41 ± 0.10m. After four weeks of training, the tests were redone and the GP showed 1.37 ± 0.08m in HS and the GI 1.43 ± 0.09m. Statistically the changes were not significant, the magnitude of the effect and the lower explosive strength results were superficial. It is concluded that, although statistically insignificant, both methods present little evolution in the explosive force of lower limbs, and it is necessary to further analyze the methods in these gains and also to analyze the concurrent proposal between both methods.