Improvement in 50-Meter Freestyle Swimming Speed Following 6 Weeks of Plyometric Training in 12-13 Years Old

Abstract

Swimming is a fantastic sport to enjoy at all ages, but increasing swimming speed requires proper training. This research aims to determine the effect of 6 weeks of plyometrics exercise on 50-meter freestyle swimming in the 12-13 age group. This study follows a pre-experimental research design, specifically utilizing a One Group pretest-posttest design. The participants in this research were drawn from the Arwana Swimming Club in Bangkalan, East Java, Indonesia male swimmers aged 12-13 with 20 participants. The Plyometric Training Program was implemented for 6 weeks, scheduled for three days each week. The results obtained from this study indicate a significant value of 0.00, which is less than 0.05. The mean values of the pretest (50.1545) and the posttest (49.264). This conclusion shows that there was an improvement in swimming speed, as evidenced by the lower time recorded in the posttest. Therefore, from this research, 6 weeks of plyometric exercises have a significant effect on the performance of 50-meter freestyle swimming in the 12-13 age group. Consequently, it is recommended that training programs be tailored to address the unique needs of male and female swimmers.