Water-Based Resistance Training and its Influence on the Flexibility and Vertical Jump Height of Female Football Players

Abstract

This study examines the influence of water-based resistance training on the flexibility and vertical jump height of female football players, addressing the need for safer and effective alternatives to traditional land-based strength training. Water-based resistance training provides a low-impact but efficient way to improve important athletic qualities considering the high-impact character of traditional training approaches. Using twenty female football players from the University of Lahore, a quasi-experimental pre- and post-testing study design was used. Comprising five weekly sessions with exercises including water running, aqua squats, water lunges, and plyometric water jumps, participants completed an eight-week water-based resistance training program. The Sit and Reach Test evaluated flexibility; the Vertical Jump Test examined vertical leap height. Using paired sample t-tests and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test via SPSS (version 27), data analysis found notable increases in both flexibility and vertical jump height. The mean Sit and Reach Test scores rose from 19.10 cm to 22.50 cm (p = 0.000), therefore verifying significant increases in flexibility. With 19 of 20 subjects showing better performance following training, the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test also revealed a statistically significant increase in vertical jump height (Z = -3.904, p = 0.000). These results show how well water-based resistance training reduces injury risk while yet enhancing flexibility and explosive lower-body strength. While the resistance promoted strength growth, the buoyant qualities of water most certainly helped to reduce joint tension. The study comes to the conclusion that water-based resistance training presents a good substitute for typical land-based training since it provides a safer and efficient approach for enhancing important physical characteristics in female football players. To validate these results and maximize training approaches, future studies should investigate longer intervention times, greater sample sizes, and direct comparisons with land-based training.

Keywords: Water-based resistance training, Flexibility, Vertical jump, Female football players