Many types of athletes use plyometric jumps to develop greater power. What does that mean in terms of competitive performance? A study on basketball players published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness provides more detail on the kind of improvements players can expect from a pre-season plyometric program.

For 8 weeks, subjects included a periodized plyometric program consisting of 117 to 183 jumps with their regular training. Compared to a control group that stuck with a traditional basketball training program, plyometrics helped subjects increase vertical jump height, improve agility, boost maximal strength and run faster 60-meter sprints.