ABSTRACT

Back ground of the study: Core muscle activation during Swiss ball and traditional abdominal exercise, were done priory in some studies. A study of core stability and athletic Performance was described in other studies. The aim of this study is to find out the effectiveness of core muscle strengthening for basketball players by using the traditional core exercises and Swiss ball exercises to improve their performance level.

Methodology: A total of 30 male subjects were divided into two groups A and B, selected for this study. Among them in group ‘A’ assigned to follow the traditional method and in other group ‘B’ were to follow the Swiss ball exercises, in which both the groups were  to concentrate on core strengthening program. The exercises included 10 repetition, 3 to 4 set, everyday for 5 weeks program, along with their routine warm ups and stretching. Statistical tool used in this study is t-test.

Results: The pre and post test values of mean table values shows that group B exercises DLLT, t-test for swiss ball exercises having better result than DLLT for traditional core exercises and t-test for traditional core exercises in group A.

Conclusion: The result of this comparative study indicates that Swiss ball core exercises are more beneficial than traditional core exercises among basketball players. Overall this study show that core strengthening and agility training method are improving not only the strength and agility but also improves the performance level among basketball players.

Keywords: Core muscle, Swiss ball exercises, traditional exercises, Inclinometer, Double leg lowering test (DLLT).