Plyometric Training Effects on Muscle Function and Rapid Movement Performance: A Review

Plyometric (or stretch-shortening cycle) training has experienced a surge of popularity among coaches and sports scientists over the past few decades, and the purpose of this paper was to review the available literature on the effects of lower-body plyometric training on muscle function and rapid movement performance. Thirty-three studies that matched the inclusion criteria were analyzed, and our findings include the following: PT improves maximal strength of lower-limb muscles by an average of 6.6%, with these PT-induced changes specific to the muscle group being trained. The mean PT-related change in contractile rate of force development was 0.9%, with a wide range of changes from -22.7% to 31.3%. In terms of the effects of PT on lower-body power, a relatively vast range of changes, from -5.2% to 25.9%, was again observed, with a mean change of 6.0%. Furthermore, PT may improve vertical jump height, with PT effects seemingly more dramatic in vertical jumps containing either slow (countermovement jump: 6.9% and 10%) or fast stretch-shortening cycles (drop jump: 8.1%) than in concentric-only vertical jumps (squat jump: 4.3%). The PT-induced improvement in horizontal jump performance was found to be smaller, amounting to 2.7%. The average effect of PT on sprint performance was only 1.6%, with the observed effect of PT appearing to decrease as the sprint distance increased. Agility performance following a PT training intervention improved on average by 4.8%. We conclude that appropriate forms of PT may be recommended as a way to improve various types of muscle function and rapid movement performance in healthy individuals.