Neuromuscular adaptation to short-term (4 weeks) ballistic training in trained high school athletes

The effects of a 4-week ballistic training program on neurological adaptation in trained high school athletes was assessed. Thirty-eight senior high school athletes (12 young women and 26 young men) were randomly assigned to either an experimental group (EXP, n = 20) or a control group (CON, n = 18). The only alteration in training was that EXP engaged in a new type of ballistic training over the 4-week experimental period. Measurements included total body weight (TBW), sum of skinfolds (SS), thigh circumference (TC), hip circumference (HC), 36.6-m speed (SP), and vertical jump power (VJP). Data were collected 3 times during the experiment. Results indicated that the ballistic training stimulated a significant improvement in SP in EXP compared with CON, which could not be accounted for by increases in HC or TC in EXP. It was concluded that neurological adaptation does occur in trained athletes when a new training stimulus is implemented.