Comparison of instability resistance training, traditional resistance training and plyometric training on athletic performance parameters.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to compare traditional resistance, instability resistance, and plyometric training methods on measures of athletic performance in healthy subjects.

Methods: Sixty five healthy, physically active male students were randomly assigned to the following groups: traditional resistance training (RT, n=22), instability training (IT, n=22), and plyometric training (PLY, n=21).Athletic performance parameters were assessed pre- and post-training using chair squat test, standing stork test, shuttle run test, t-test, and vertical jump test.

Results: General linear univariate model with baseline as covariate (ANCOVA) was used for analyzing the change in outcome from baseline to post-treatment. Statistically significant improvement was observed in all the athletic performance parameters in all three groups after seven weeks of training (p-value<0.05). The highest change in chair squat test was reported for RT compared to IT (p-value<0.001) and PLY (p-value<0.001). The change in standing stork test among the IT group was substantially higher than that among RT (p-value=0.007) but did not significantly differ from that among the PLY (p-value=0.27). No statistically significant difference was observed in post-test values of vertical jump test among three groups. The highest change in t-test and shuttle run test was reported for PLY compared to IT (p-value<0.001) and RT (p-value<0.001).

Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, it is suggested that IT and PLY can be included with traditional RT to improve various aspects of athletic performance in healthy physically active individuals. The current study will give an insight to athletes, coaches, and trainers regarding utilization of appropriate training methods in enhancing athletic performance. However, further research is required to establish the effectiveness.