Effects of 12-Week Medicine Ball Training on Muscle Strength and Power in Young Female Handball Players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of medicine ball training on the strength and power in young female handball athletes. Twenty-one young female handball players (age, 16.9 ± 1.2 years) were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Experimental group (n = 11) participated in a 12-week medicine ball training program incorporated into the regular training session, whereas controls (n = 10) participated only in the regular training. Performance in the medicine ball throws in standing and sitting positions, 1 repetition maximum (1RM) bench and shoulder press, and power test at 2 different loads (30 and 50% of 1RM) on bench and shoulder press were assessed at pre- and posttraining testing. The athletes participating in the medicine ball training program made significantly greater gains in all medicine ball throw tests compared with the controls (p < 0.01). Also, the experimental group made significantly greater gains in bench and shoulder press power than control group (p < 0.05). Both training groups (E) and (C) significantly (p < 0.05) increased 1RM bench and shoulder strength, with no differences observed between the groups. Additionally, medicine ball throw tests showed stronger correlation with power tests, than with 1RM tests. These data suggest that 12-week medicine ball training, when incorporated into a regular training session, can provide greater sport-specific training improvements in the upper body for young female handball players.

Citius, Altius, Fortius: beneficial effects of resistance training for young athletes: Narrative review

“…In addition to enhancing muscular strength, regular participation in a progressive resistance training programme for 2 years improved sprint speed up to 6% in elite youth soccer players compared to a group of age-matched players who participated only in regular soccer training 45. Others reported favourable changes in performance measures in age-group swimmers,46 preadolescent rhythmic gymnasts,47 and adolescent basketball,48 handball49and tennis players11 following resistance training. Of potential relevance is that researchers monitored strength performance on the front and back squat exercises in 141 elite youth soccer players over 2 years and determined possible reference values in strength performance for these athletes 50.…”

A Multi-Disciplinary Examination of Psycho-Physiological Performance Among Youth and Junior Ball Sport Athletes: A Systematic Review

“…The comprehensive search of the related databases resulted studies, which evaluated mostly senior handball players, members of national teams, not youth or juniors. Some researchers conducted an in-depth match analysis, and later investigated the effect of 8-week plyometric training in elite adolescent handball players [37,38]. According to the results of our database searches, studies conducted in youth player population are very rare.…”

Towards endurance in sport

“…The use of adequate equipment and standardised testing protocols enables the precise measurement of the effective force, distance covered, or movement duration. Depending on the device, a single or several parameters can be measured, and it is possible to calculate the data necessary for high quality diagnosis of muscular endurance using a computer (30). Isoinertial field tests are tests in which a constant external load is resisted during the entire exercise, such as free-weight exercises.…”