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Abstract

This study investigates associated plyometric and elastic resistance band exercise synergies and their effect on agility and reaction time in female karate practitioners. Classical exercise associated with karate focuses predominantly on technique and endurance but overlooks explosive neuromuscular capacity development critical to competition success. In filling the associated gap, a quasi-experiment pre/post-test design was used with 20 subjects aged 18–25 from Islamabad branch, University of Lahore. The subjects were exposed to 8-week combined exercise protocol, 3–4 times per week, involving challenges related to agility and reaction time, neuromuscular reactivity. Agility was assessed by Illinois Agility Test or IAT, and ruler drop tests or RDT were used to record reaction time. Data indicated significant change related to both variables: decrease from 20.4750 to 19.6350s related to pre- to post-agility time, and from 0.2405s to 0.2100s related to pre- to post-mean reaction time. The data normality was tested by KS, kolomogrov smirnov, and Shapiro-Wilk tests, and they reasserted that pre- as well as post-test values related to both agility and reaction time were near-normal. Due to these, parametric tests, i.e., paired samples t-tests, were used with warrant to study associated exercise protocol effect. Paired samples tests corroborated that those changes were statically significant (p < 0.05) with large effect sizes associated with practical relevance (Cohen’s d = 4.620 and d = 3.054, respectively, related to agility and reaction time). The finding corroborated associated hypothesis related to combined exercise protocol resulting in associated synergistic effect associated with athletic capacity. The study contributes to existing literature by corroborating associated combined exercise protocol benefit associated with increasing agility and reaction time, providing practical evidence to trainers, practitioners, and sport authorities seeking to attain higher combat sport attainment.
Keywords:
Elastic Resistance Bands, Plyometric Training, Agility, Reaction Time