Efficacy of 6 Weeks Pilates Training on Physical Parameters and Sports-Specific Skills of Volleyball Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Volleyball is a game of high aerobic capacity, power, speed, agility, strength, flexibility, and jumping. Pilates exercise helps in improving muscle strength and flexibility thus providing a player with skills of jumping, high aerobic capacity, and better offense and defense capabilities. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of Pilates exercises on various fitness parameters and volleyball sports-specific skills in volleyball players. University-level male volleyball players (n=30) aging between 18-25 years were included and randomly allocated into two groups i.e. control group (n=15) who performed only regular volleyball training, and the experimental group (n=15) who were given Pilates training in addition to their regular volleyball training 3 times per week for 6 weeks. The outcome measures: balance, upper and lower abdominal strength, agility, explosive power, and volleyball-specific skill tests, assessed at baseline and post-intervention.The results showed significant improvement within the control group for balance (In posterior reach and medial reach) and volleyball-specific skills (Brady’s test), but other parameters did not revealed any statistical significance difference. Whereas, in the experimental group, significant improvement was found for all tested parameters except balance in lateral, anterior, posterior, anterolateral, anteromedial, and posterolateral directions. Also, there existed a statistically significant difference between both the groups for all tested parameters (p≤0.05). The study concluded that Pilates training helps in improving physical parameters such as agility, explosive power, balance, upper and lower abdominal strength, and sports-specific skills of volleyball players.