RESEARCH ON THE EXPLOSIVE POWER OF THE LOWER LIMBS IN RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS

For sports experts, the question of developing explosive power abilities in competitors is of particular importance. Largely, explosive power is genetically determined by the presence of fast-twitch muscle fibers. On the other hand, coaches may influence the adolescent’s ability to generate power through the methodology. Our study aims to enhance the explosive power of the lower limbs in 6- to 7-year-old girls participating in rhythmic gymnastics. The research was carried out with 22 gymnasts from two rhythmic gymnastics clubs in the city of Sofia. The methods we employed in our research included a study of specialized literature, sports-pedagogical testing, sports-pedagogical experiments, and mathematical-statistical methods. Two tests were used to determine the level of the explosive power of the lower limbs – vertical jump and standing long jump. Based on the testing results, we developed a methodology to enhance the explosive power of the lower limbs, which was applied to two groups. In the Experimental group, we applied a methodology using means from track and field athletics, and in the Control group, a methodology using means from rhythmic gymnastics. The analysis of the increase in indicators after the applied methodologies shows a statistically significant improvement in the results of the children from both groups, which confirms the effectiveness of the applied methodologies. The research showed that the methodology for developing the explosive power of the lower limbs using means from track and field athletics led to a greater increase in results compared to the methodology using means from rhythmic gymnastics. These results confirm the high effectiveness of the athletics methodology, which can be integrated as a complement to the existing methodologies of rhythmic gymnastics coaches.