Effect of Plyometric Training on Explosive Power, Agility, Balance, and Aerobic Performance of Young Adult Male Kabaddi Players

Kabaddi is a team contact sport demanding high endurance, explosive power, strength, agility, reaction time, spatial awareness, and speed. Plyometric exercises are known to improve explosive power, agility, aerobic capacity, trunk and lower-extremity muscle strength, and flexibility. It has demonstrated improved physical fitness in athletes playing contact sports such as soccer. The present study hypothesized that plyometric training integrated with conventional Kabaddi training would enhance explosive power, agility, trunk/lower-extremity strength, balance, and aerobic performance among male Kabaddi players. Sixty-one subelite Kabaddi players (18-35 years) were assigned to a plyometric training group (n = 31) or a control group (n = 30). Both groups underwent conventional Kabaddi training. Additionally, the plyometric training group undertook plyometric exercises for 12-weeks. All participants were assessed on physical fitness parameters deemed essential for onfield Kabaddi performance; pre- and post-12-week intervention−body composition, agility, explosive power, cardiorespiratory endurance, lower-extremity flexibility, and trunk/lower-extremity muscle strength. Kabaddi players who trained with plyometric exercises demonstrated significant improvement in physical fitness components of explosive power (p < 0.05), lower-extremity flexibility (p = 0.00), skeletal muscle mass (p = 0.00), balance (p < 0.05), agility (p = 0.00), and aerobic capacity (p = 0.00) compared to the control group. Plyometric training improved sports-specific physical fitness in male Kabaddi players by improving explosive power, flexibility, agility, and trunk-lower extremity muscle strength, which is speculated to have a positive impact on raiding and defense performance. Hence, it is recommended that plyometric training be integrated with conventional training to enhance the performance of Kabaddi players.