The effect of a five week training intervention program of sprint and jumping exercises on running velocity and vertical jump performance, in prepubertal boys

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of sprint and jumping exercises focused on running velocity (RV) and vertical jump (VJ) in prepubescent boys. Forty-five pre-pubertal boys participated in a five-week intervention program. Participants were divided in three equal groups consisted of 15 boys. The first group followed a specific running sprint program (SPR). The second group followed a program with jumping exercises (JUM). The third group attended only at physical education lessons and this was used as control group (CONT). The running distances of (0-30m), (0-10m), (10-20m), (20-30m) and squat jump (SJ) were selected as testing variables to evaluate the RV and VJ respectively. The sprint-training program consisted of short sprints from 5 to 30m with a resting period of 3min between repetitions and 5 min between sets. The total amount of running distance per session was initially 150m and gradually increased up to 200m. The JUM performed initially 60 jumps per training session and gradually, they were increased up to 80. After the five weeks intervention, in both experimental groups, the SJ increased significantly in both group, while no effect was observed for RV. The present results indicated that, a short term training period of five weeks including jumping and running exercise can induce an improvement in jumping performance but not in running sprint. Probably training at a higher volume or extended duration is required for sprint enhancement.