ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Application of Complex Training in Sports: Theory, Practice, and ImpactView all 5 articles
The Effects of Eight Weeks of Sand-based Plyometric Training on Lower-Extremity Explosive Strength, Balance, and Agility in Male Collegiate Badminton Players
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Physical Education and Health Science, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China
- 2College of Physical Education and Health Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
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Background: Badminton is a high-intensity sport that demands explosive strength, dynamic balance, and agility. Plyometric training (PT) is crucial for enhancing these abilities, yet there is limited research comparing sand-based PT to hard-surface PT in badminton players. Objective: This study compared the effects of sand-based PT and hard-surface PT on lower-extremity explosive strength, dynamic balance, and agility in male badminton players. Methods: Twenty-eight male collegiate badminton players were randomly assigned to a sand-based PT group (n=14) or a hard-surface PT group (n=14). Both groups performed plyometric programs twice weekly for eight weeks. Outcomes measurement before and after training included countermovement jump (CMJ) height, squat jump (SJ) height, drop jump (DJ) height, standing long jump (SLJ) distance, Y-balance test (YBT), hexagon jump test, and badminton-specific agility test (lateral agility test and four-corner agility test). We used two-way repeated measures analysis of This is a provisional file, not the final typeset article variance (ANOVA) (time × group) with Bonferroni post hoc tests, and effect sizes were reported as partial eta squared ( ) or Cohen's d (p<0.05). Results: Statistical analysis revealed significant time main effects across multiple metrics: CMJ height (F=81.26, p<0.01, =0.75), SJ height (F=82.86, p<0.01, =0.76), DJ height (F=54.58, p<0.01, =0.68, large effect), SLJ distance (F=49.86, p<0.01, =0.66), dynamic balance ability (p<0.01), and agility (p<0.01), no significant between-group differences were found for any of the variables(p>0.05). Additionally, a significant interaction effect between time and group was observed in the left leg to right (F=4.76, p = 0.04). Conclusion: This study indicates that both sand-based PT and hard-surface PT over 8 weeks significantly enhance explosive power, dynamic balance, and agility performance, with no significant differences between groups.
Keywords: Plyometric training, Lower-Extremity Explosive Strength, dynamic balance, agility, Badminton players
Received: 19 Sep 2025; Accepted: 12 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Deng, Zheng, Wang, Zhao, Xia, Zhang, Zhou and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Bin Zhang, zhangbin666@zjnu.edu.cn
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