Introduction

Team sports each require specific training tailored to their unique needs (Herrera & Moreno, 2014). Training in team sports such as soccer, volleyball or basketball has generated discrepancies as to how it should be structured, in order to obtain better results since they require the ability to perform and repeat the explosive muscle contractions necessary to perform sprints, jumps, turns, changes of pace, kicks or throws (Bangsbo et al., 2006), therefore speed and strength play a fundamental role in performance that ultimately impacts collective performance (Barquero-Jiménez et al., 2020).

All team sports have high functional and physiological demands (Núñez et al., 2016). There are phases of acceleration and deceleration, starts, stops or changes of direction, all intermittently (Santiago et al., 2015). To achieve this improvement in power, athletes require a combination of strength and speed, and it is difficult to achieve adequate stimuli to obtain maximum power during competition (Bompa, 2004). It is common to perform sprints, during defensive phases, counterattacks, throws and displacements in most offensive plays, which are characterised by high intensity actions. Collective sports require strength, speed, endurance, flexibility, coordination and balance and varieties formed by their combination, therefore, it is necessary to work on these components in training, so that movements can be precise and energetically efficient, which translates into a better performance of athletes during the game (Lloyd et al., 2014).

García-López et al. (2003) consider that Professor Rodolfo Margaria in the 1960s was the first to address the relevance of the so-called stretch-shortening cycle (SSC), demonstrating that a concentric contraction preceded by an eccentric contraction could generate higher levels of force than an isolated concentric contraction (Faccioni, 2001). Professor Margaria’s contributions were used by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N.A.S.A.) to develop an efficient way to walk on the moon (Zanon, 1974). However, Professor Margaria’s studies went beyond the N.A.S.A., as some Soviet instructors became interested in the stretch-shortening cycle. Thus, in 1966, Zaciorskij used the work developed by Margaria as a basis for creating a training programme that sought to enhance and exploit the stretch reflex in explosive type actions. It was Zaciorskij who introduced the term plyometrics (Zanon, 1974). On the other hand, in the 1960s, the Soviet jumping coach Yuri Verkhoshansky became interested in exploit the elastic energy accumulated in a muscle after stretching by observing the technique of triple jump athletes, and it was then that Verkhoshansky realised that the best results corresponded to those athletes who spent the shortest time in contact with the ground in each of the supports. Therefore, for many, Verkhoshansky is the father of plyometrics (García-López et al., 2003).

The aim of plyometrics is to decrease the time between the end of the eccentric muscle contraction and the beginning of the concentric contraction. This type of training aims to provide the ability to train specific and biomechanically correct movement patterns, strengthening the muscle, tendon, and ligament in a more functional way (Ruivo et al., 2018).

In the meta-analysis conducted by Alfaro-Jiménez et al. (2018), the results suggest that plyometric training significantly improves jump height; with increases of between 7.55% and 14.35%. According to Markovic (2007) a change of 5-10% (2-6 cm) can be of great importance for athletes trained in sports involving vertical jumping. Therefore, that plyometric training has significant effects on explosive strength in jumping events.

The literature reviewed agrees with the findings of Sáez de Villareal et al. (2009), who investigated the effect of plyometric training on vertical jump height. In the same meta-analysis by Alfaro-Jiménez et al. (2018), it was found that women obtain greater benefits from plyometric training on explosive strength compared to men. Also, the work of Flores et al. (2015) with female volleyball players and the studies of Spurs et al. (2003) report significant increases in the biomechanical variables of jumping (jumping power, height, flight time and jumping speed), when performing a 7-week programme, with a frequency of two sessions per week.

The increase in strength and metabolic health, increases performance and jump height (Ingle et al., 2016). Chelly et al. (2014) comment that the development of high levels of muscular strength and power in youth football players has become a fundamental process for the improvement of explosiveness. Conversely, a decrease in muscle strength, joint mobility and neuromuscular control modifies the functional behavior of a subject, limiting performance and triggering injuries (Ceroni et al., 2012). Efficient strength training and its transfer to sport-specific tasks is a key objective for athletes participating in team sports (Teo et al., 2016). In the case of soccer players, an increase in muscle power is associated with increases in jumping ability and speed (Hoyo et al.,2016).

Chelly et al. (2014) states that plyometrics is one of the most widely used systems to improve muscle strength with a wide range of exercises that employ jumping (Hoyo et al., 2016), and has been identified as a transferable component towards muscle power increases (Loturco et al., 2015). Therefore, the following research was developed, with the aim of analysing the different types of plyometrics and their evaluation considering team sports: football, basketball and volleyball.

Materials and Methods

Review and research plan, in correspondence with Hernández et al. (2010) in terms of an approach that uses the collection of background information without being manipulated, to unveil or refine questions in a research process and build a specific conceptual framework. This inquiry has a bibliographic approach (González et al., 2013), to deepen the background study that is part of the analysis. Its value lies in an approach that generates a scientific view of different research and articles (Guirao-Goris, 2015). In the review, the critical evaluation of the research is performed (Machi & McEvoy, 2012), which in this case involved a compilation, discrimination, review, and synthesis of the material, which had the attributes, characteristics and methodological elements in line with the object of study. A bibliographic evaluation of their discussions and conclusions was carried out, elaborating with each of them an independent unit based on the collection, organization, and synthesis of relevant information (Roussos, 2011), considering integrative and selective criteria that are framed as descriptive reviews whose characteristics stand out for being conceptual and critical updates for academic purposes and useful specifically in the field of teaching or research (Vera, 2009).

The collection of articles was carried out from January to February 2022, through the keywords: plyometric training, volleyball, basketball, basketball, soccer, explosive strength, jumping, collective sports, in the following Databases and search engines: Google Scholar© WoS© , Scopus©, Pubmed©, Scielo, Dialnet©, Redalyc©, from 2011 to the present, with the aim of relating the effects of plyometric training on physical performance in the sports of basketball, soccer and volleyball.

Secondly, a selection was made of articles in Spanish and English focused on the effect of plyometric training in team sports and that have developed experimental studies between 2011 and 2022, including the key concepts indicated in the search variables and that additionally present antecedents associated with the physical performance of the athletes. Articles that did not consider pre- and post-training studies were excluded and the age criterion was not considered, incorporating all the works regardless of this variable.

Finally, the articles were tabulated by the research team, who reviewed the titles, results, discussions, and conclusions of the studies to carry out the integrative analysis.

Results

The search yielded the following results: WoS©: five research, Scopus©: two research, Scielo©: three research, Redalyc©: two research, Latindex catalogue: five research. 110 articles were reviewed and only 17 met the inclusion criteria, which contained all the necessary elements to analyse the different evaluation methodologies, plyometric training, and the effects on the physical performance of volleyball, football, and basketball players.

The following tables show the results obtained from the analysis of the studies found on plyometric training in the collective sports of volleyball, football, and basketball.

Table 1 includes studies in volleyball players (Véliz et al., 2017; Vilela et al., 2017 2021; Sánchez-Moreno et al., 2018; Flores et al., 2015; Ahmadi et al., 2021; Izquierdo et al., 2015; Pérez, 2012) from Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Spain, and Iran, between the years 2012 to 2021. There are significant effects on explosive strength performance, this translates into better jumping and speed, this shows the work of Sánchez-Moreno et al. (2018), Flores (2015), Izquierdo et al. (2015) and Ahmadi et al. (2021). There were studies where no significant effects were found or these effects were very slight, for example in Véliz et al. (2017) and Vilela et al. (2017, 2021).

In terms of methodology, it is observed that measurements of CMJ, Squat Jump and Drop Jump, Abalakov and speed over a short distance of 20 metres are continuously repeated, which demonstrates the reliability of these tests.

In relation to training weeks, these vary between six and eight weeks, in some cases during the first week the adaptation to the training and the type of evaluation of the jumps was carried out, in other cases this adaptation was started on the same day of the training. With two-three sessions per week, so as not to overload the athletes, as the studies were carried out as part of the training or in other cases the plyometric training was extra to the daily training.

It was found that plyometric training produced significant effects, combined or not with strength training.

Most of the studies were conducted in the puberty-adolescence period, from 12 to 18 years, and with young adults from 22 to 24 years. No differences were found in this aspect. The number of studies with females was five and with males three.

Table 2 shows studies on football players (Barahona et al., 2019; Beato et al., 2018; Haro & Cerón, 2019; Hernández & García, 2012; Ramírez-Campillo et al., 2015-2018) from Chile, Spain, Cuba, and the United Kingdom. They report results with significant effects like those of Barahona et al. (2019); Beato et al. (2018); Haro & Cerón, (2019); Hernández & García (2012); Ramírez-Campillo et al. (2015) and not statistically significant like Ramírez-Campillo et al. (2018).

Training weeks vary between six and eight, number of sessions per week is two. In measurements and pre-post training, measurements of countermovement, Squat jump, and Drop Jump, Abalakov and speed over short distances of 10 to 40 m are performed. In addition, the Sargent test and jumps with load are used.

In football players, studies by Haro & Cerón (2019) and Hernández (2012) combine plyometrics with strength and HIIT, which could have a greater effect on the athlete’s performance.

Most studies included adolescents aged 13 to 17 years, with only a study that included adult women aged 21 to 22 years. No major differences were found between males and females in the number of studies (3 and 3), nor in the effects of plyometric training, nor in the jumps performed in the evaluation and during training were similar.

Table 3 presents studies by Fernández et al. (2020); Delgado et al. (2011) and Sánchez et al. (2021) from Chile and Spain. They recorded significant effects, which would confirm the effectiveness of plyometric training in basketball players.

The number of weeks of training was six to eight, with two sessions. Coinciding with the other sports studied. The evaluation and training tests are Squat Jump, Counter movement Jump and Abalakov. And only the study by Sánchez et al. (2021) combined strength.

One study with women, one with men and one mixed study were reported. Similar assessment jumps were used in all of them. The age of these athletes ranged from 15 to 25 years.

Discussion

With respect to the effects of plyometrics, both significant and non-significant effects were found. In volleyball significant effects were recorded in; Ahmadi et al. (2021); Flores et al. (2015); Izquierdo et al. (2015); Pérez, 2012; Sánchez-Moreno et al. (2018) and non-significant, such as Vilela et al., (2017-2021) and Véliz et al. (2017). In the case of football, we find significant effects in Beato et al. (2018); Barahona et al. (2019); Haro & Cerón (2019); Hernández & García (2012) and Ramírez-Campillo et al., (2015) and non-significant such as Ramírez-Campillo et al. (2018). In the case of basketball, only studies with significant post plyometric training effects were found (Delgado et al. 2011; Fernández et al. 2020 and Sánchez et al. (2021).

Markovic (2010) points out that plyometrics is a method that has solid scientific support that uses jumping exercises in the muscle action of the stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) and represents an improvement in the ability of the neural and musculotendinous systems to produce force in a limited time frame (Wang and Zhang, 2016).

Exercises with rebounding show neuromuscular activation, greater strength and power (double the increase in eccentric muscle activity) than exercises without rebounding (Jarvis et al., 2016). According to Markovic (2010) eccentric muscle activations are paramount during SSC, and this mechanism is a key component during football specific actions such as changes of direction, sprints and sprinting activities.

In the review conducted, most of the studies with football players recorded an amount of 8 weeks of training with two sessions per week, which agrees with Sáez de Villareal et al. (2009) who mentions that if a moderate frequency and volume of plyometric training is used (two days per week), a similar stimulus is generated as training with a high volume and frequency (four days per week). Moderate training has been found to be slightly more efficient than high volume and frequency training (Yiannis, 2014).

In volleyball players, football players and basketball players, there was a history of studies that reported studies with and without significant effects, both in plyometric training combined with strength, as well as in plyometric training without combining plyometric training. This coincides with the studies by Sáez de Villareal et al. (2009) and the meta-analysis conducted by Alfaro et al. (2018) both of which show that there are no differences between applying plyometric training in isolation or combining it with other training (strength, sprint, HIIT) to improve jump height. According to Markovic (2010)) improvements in jumping performance can be attributed to factors such as improved motor unit recruitment, increased intermuscular coordination or improved

Four studies were reported with significant post-training effects and three studies with no significant effects, these results are compared by Izquierdo et al. (2015) in his research with team sports, specifically volleyball. The quantitative results are those that have the greatest impact with respect to other sports since work with overloads and plyometrics is a constant in regular training to preserve and improve jumping ability (Stanganelli et al., 2008). Another study, with the combination of plyometrics and speed training reported significant results in CMJ and Abalakov (Idrizovic et al., 2018). In terms of the number of weeks of training the studies reported varying numbers of weeks, with six or eight being the most recurrent with two sessions per week. This is in line with studies that have reported positive effects on both jumping and explosive strength following the application of plyometric training with varying numbers of weeks (Berton et al., 2018). Another work that conducted six weeks of plyometric training in water with female volleyball players, reported significant improvements in jumping (Mckay et al., 2005), where it was observed that training in water can help in injury prevention and adaptation of young players (Mckay et al., 2005).

Regarding the jumps evaluated, specifically Countermovement, Abalakov and Squat Jump, pre and post measurements were performed, and no significant effects were reported, which coincides with García-López et al. (2005) where no important results were reported after four weeks of training. This could be due to the short duration of the programme applied, in comparison with the programmes cited in the literature, which did produce significant increases in the assessments. In the case of the Drop Jump, the results are also varied as in the case of Wilson et al. (1993), who compared the results of a traditional training programme with high loads (80-90% of maximum), a power programme with low loads (30% of maximum) and high execution speed, the latter being the one that induced the greatest improvements. It should be noted that in this research, the plyometric training group, within the jumping test, only obtained a significant increase in the CMJ. The authors attribute this to the effect of plyometric training in improving the use of elastic and neurological factors. Unlike the studies reviewed that did obtain significant effects, such as those of Sánchez-Moreno et al. (2018); Izquierdo et al. (2015); Ahmadi et al. (2021) and Flores et al., 2015, which showed improvements in CMJ, DJ and SJ post plyometric training. This implies that for plyometric training to be significant, a more varied training methodology is required, involving adequate volume, frequency, intensity, and recovery.

In soccer, training exercises should be like what happens on the playing field (Zamparo et al.,2014). According to Bangsbo et al. (2006) soccer players perform several changes of direction, sprints and power activities during a match involving decelerations, re-accelerations and constant adjustments of step distance, which is one of the most important skills to be considered in this sport (Beato et al., 2018).

Regarding the studies in football, five investigations were reported with significant effects, and only one without significant effects, the protocols proposed in most of the studies presented used a training frequency of eight weeks with two training sessions per week. This seems to be a sufficient stimulus to improve power parameters in young players (Beato et al., 2018).

No differences were found between men and women. This could show a possible potential of the selected method to improve capacities such as speed and specific strength in female sex, an aspect evidenced by Meylan & Malalesta (2009), where eight weeks of plyometric training in girls improved performance parameters, an aspect also demonstrated by Diallo et al. (2001) where strength-speed trained by plyometry, showed improvements in children. Besides, in strength and motor agility capacity in adolescents with short-term plyometric training, the study of Thomas et al. (2009) showed improvements in vertical jump and agility time. In women, the results are also significant, demonstrating that plyometrics is useful in both sexes to improve physical performance. Sáez (2004) explains that muscular strength is one of the relevant variables in relation to jumping ability, and that it is directly related to speed and power.

Regarding plyometric training combined with HIIT performed by Barahona et al. (2019), effects were reported in the Sargent test after eight weeks of training, two sessions each. This compares with the study by Chelly et al. (2010) who after eight weeks of plyometric training, showed significant increase in jump height in Squat Jump and Countermovement jump tests. Other studies, such as that of Chelly et al. (2014), where the plyometric method has been used to obtain a significant increase in sprinters, soccer players, basketball players, handball players and gymnasts, plyometrics contributed to improving jump height and peak power However, these investigations did not use HIIT-based training to increase muscle power. This may explain the paucity of scientific evidence on the combination of plyometric training with HIIT. Thanks to the results obtained by Barahona et al. (2019), HIIT-based plyometric training has been demonstrated to be an effective tool to increase jump height and peak power in U-17 adolescent soccer players. A correct use of this training would allow to obtain higher levels of sports performance, mainly because HIIT added to explosive exercises could improve power and some factors related to fatigue It is not clear why HIIT adding factors related to fatigue could explain the lack of evidence of that matter (Brocherie et al., 2015).

The review recorded the efficacy of plyometric training in improving the physical and athletic performance of basketball players, more specifically in the SJ, CMJ and AJ. In Sanchez et al. (2021) combined plyometrics with strength training, effects on CMJ and SJ were recorded, as well as in previous research increases in vertical jump performance have been observed. However, information on the mechanism impacting this increase is required (Perez-Gomez & Calbert, 2013). In the study by Sanchez et al. (2021) the increase in jumping performance after plyometric training were accompanied by decreases in applied force values. The results suggest that training without resistance can generate improvements in vertical speed. In the studies analysed, both the groups that only performed plyometric training and those that combined plyometric training with strength training experienced an increase in their performance (Perez-Gomez & Calbert, 2013).

McCormick et al. (2016) tested plyometric training efficacy for CMJ among female basketball athletes. The athletes were divided into two groups. One received plyometric training in frontal plane and the other in sagittal plane. Both groups improved their performance, but the sagittal plane group showed significant improvement in CMJ. In men, the effects of a six-week plyometric training on vertical jump in basketball athletes were investigated. These were divided into two groups, with the experimental group obtaining improvements over the control group (Asadi & Arazi, 2012).

In Delgado et al. (2011), it was observed that the experimental group improved jump height in the three tests, and in reactivity, although these improvements did not reach statistical significance for SJ, AJ and reactivity. The CMJ presented significant values. García-López et al. (2003) suggest that the test most sensitive to the adaptations induced by plyometric training is the countermovement.

In basketball, Abdelkrim et al. (2007) comment that, due to its specificity, it can contribute to improve vertical jump performance. It is believed that the improvement of the stretch-shortening cycle is a factor that can explain the significant improvements in vertical jump performance. According to Markovic & Mikulic (2010), the development of this cycle involves better utilization of the elastic components of the muscles and proprioceptive reflex stimuli, resulting in several neuromuscular adaptations directly associated with vertical jumping.

Conclusions

The results suggest that plyometric training, as shown in many of the studies analysed, is beneficial in improving the athletic performance of basketball, volleyball and soccer players with respect to jumping, strength, speed and explosive strength variables. 13 studies reported significant effects v/s four studies that showed an improvement in performance, but without reaching statistical significance. It can be concluded that an organized and planned plyometric training can improve the sports performance of basketball players. Soccer players and volleyball players.

References

Notas

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History