Effects of a neuromuscular warm-up on Y-balance, countermovement jump performance, and stroke velocity in adolescent table tennis players
Chenwen Zhu, Lina Wang, Meiling Tao, Lingling Gu, Xulan He, Tianyue Yin, Jiuzhang Li, Steve Thompson, Ziemowit Bańkosz, Nan GuBackground/Objective
Adolescent table tennis players are exposed to substantial physical and psychological demands during a period of ongoing growth and development, placing high demands on movement control, explosive performance, and sport-specific stroke execution. This study investigated the effects of an 8-week neuromuscular warm-up on dynamic balance, countermovement jump (CMJ) performance, and stroke velocity in adolescent male table tennis players.
Methods
Thirty adolescent male table tennis players were randomly assigned to either a neuromuscular warm-up group or a control group performing a conventional warm-up before regular training sessions. The intervention lasted 8 weeks, with 2 sessions per week. Outcome measures included upper quarter Y-balance test composite score (YBT-UQ), lower quarter Y-balance test composite score (YBT-LQ), CMJ height, and forehand and backhand topspin stroke velocity, assessed before and after the intervention. Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine the effects of group, time, and group × time interaction for each outcome.
Results
Linear mixed-effects models revealed significant group × time interactions for YBT-UQ (p < 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.32), YBT-LQ (p = 0.003, ηp 2 = 0.25), CMJ height (p < 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.54), forehand topspin velocity (p = 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.30), and backhand topspin velocity (p < 0.001, ηp 2 = 0.35). Significant pre-to-post improvements were observed in the neuromuscular warm-up group, whereas no significant changes were found in the control group.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that neuromuscular warm-up may be an effective strategy to enhance dynamic balance, jumping performance, and stroke velocity in adolescent male table tennis players.