RESUMO
AIM: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of 8-wk periodized plyometric training (PT) on chair-rise, jumping and sprinting performance in three groups of women of different age (40-50; 50-60; 60-70 years). METHODS: This study involved a group of 55 women between the ages of 40 and 70 with no PT experience participating in a gymnastic program and recreational activity that did not involve jumping and who had participated since five years. All tests to determine the values of strength endurance, vertical jumping performance (VJP) and velocity were carried out before (PRE), after (POST) and following 8 weeks of rest (DETRAINING) of the 8 weeks of PT. The performance tests were completed in 3 days. RESULTS: The primary finding of this investigation indicates that low impact PT using moderate volume of jumps produced similar enhancements in the three age groups of women in jumping and chair-rise performance (30 CST) (ranging 15-24 %). There were no enhancements in 10 m-sprint time in any of the age groups. In addition, 8 weeks of detraining following an 8 week PT program resulted in similar decreases in chair-rise and jumping performance in all training groups, whereas no further changes were observed in 10-m sprint time. CONCLUSION: The low impact PT proposed appears to be an optimal stimulus for improving VJP and 30 CST during short-term training periods in untrained middle-aged and elderly women.