Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to observe the effects of combining plyometric exercises with swimming exercises on the sprint swimming performance of male swimmers aged 9–12 over an 8-week period. 20 athletes participated in the study voluntarily, but 2 athletes voluntarily left the study during the testing phase. Participants were divided into two groups: the study group (n = 9) and the control group (n = 9). The study group underwent 3 weeks of general strength training as part of their weekly training programme to adapt before starting plyometric training. After the adaptation period, the group continued with plyometric training for 8 weeks, in addition to their weekly training programme. Plyometric training was applied at 72-hour intervals, twice a week, and was integrated into the first hour of the 2-hour training session. The control group only continued their weekly training. The SPSS 22 package programme for Windows was used to evaluate the data. In the study, independent sample t-tests and paired sample t-tests were used to determine the differences between the tests. 25- and 50-m freestyle swimming performance measurements were taken from swimmers before and after 8 weeks of plyometric training. After the 8-week training period, a significant difference was observed in the 25- and 50-m freestyle swimming performances of the athletes in the study group who incorporated plyometric exercises into their swimming training. No significant difference was found in the 25- and 50-m freestyle swimming performances of the control group athletes who only underwent swimming training. The results obtained from this study showed that plyometric exercise improved sprint swimming performance in pre-adolescent male swimmers. In light of this information, future studies can investigate the effects of different strength training programmes on performance in pre-adolescent swimmers