A meta-analysis of plyometric training in female youth: its efficacy and shortcomings in the literature

This meta-analysis characterised female youths’ adaptability to plyometric training (PT). A second objective was to highlight the limitations of the body of literature with a view to informing future research. Fourteen studies were included in the final analysis. The effect size (ES = Hedges’ g) for the main effect of vertical jump performance was ‘small’. (ES = 0.57, 95% confidence interval: 0.21, 0.93). Effect sizes were larger in younger (< 15 yrs; ES = 0.78 [0.25, 1.30] vs. 0.31 [-0.18, 0.80]), shorter (<163cm; ES = 1.03 [0.38, 1.68] vs. 0.25 [-0.20, 0.70]) and lighter (<54kg; ES = 1.14 [0.39, 1.89] vs. 0.26 [-0.15, 0.67]) participants. Programing variables seemed to influence adaptive responses with larger effects in interventions which were longer (8 weeks; ES = 1.04 [0.35, 1.72] vs. 0.24 [-0.11, 0.59]), had greater weekly training frequency (>2; ES = 1.22 [0.18, 2.25] vs. 0.37 [0.02, 0.71]) and whose sessions were of longer duration (≥30mins ES = 1.16 [0.14, 2.17] vs. 0.33 [0.03, 0.63]). More than 16 sessions per program (0.85 [0.18, 1.51]) was more effective than exactly 16 sessions (0.46 [0.08, 0.84]) which, in turn, was more effective than less than 16 (0.37 [-0.44, 1.17]). These findings can inform the prescription of PT in female youth.