Baseline Performance and the 72‐Hour Performance Window Following Plyometric Withdrawal in Collegiate Sprinters

ABSTRACT Plyometric studies emphasise pre–post change, but coaches need to know what remains after the block ends. This single‐cohort study followed 26 collegiate sprinters through 12 weeks of Monday plyometric training and 4 weeks of withdrawal, without a parallel control group. During intervention, 30 m sprint time and arm‐assisted countermovement jump (CMJ) height were measured at 0, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h; 0 and 72 h were retained during withdrawal. Mixed models showed large week effects for sprint, F(1, 1534) = 2272.01, partial η 2 = 0.597, 95% CI [0.570, 0.622], and CMJ, F(1, 1534) = 2537.82, partial η 2 = 0.623, 95% CI [0.598, 0.647]. Time‐point effects were evident, but week × time‐point interactions were not. Relative to 0 h, sprint was 0.0098 s slower at 24 h and 0.0057 s faster at 72 h; CMJ was 0.311 cm lower at 24 h and 0.245 cm higher at 72 h (all Tukey‐adjusted p < 0.001). Linear, quadratic, and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were compared by rolling one‐step error. ARIMA had the lowest rolling errors and provided exploratory, model‐based references for weeks 13–16. During withdrawal, 1/4 sprint and 0/4 CMJ 0 h observations fell within the 95% prediction interval; mean absolute deviations were 0.0233 s and 0.794 cm. Three of four 72 − 0 h observations were within the interval for both outcomes. The 72 − 0 h series more often fell within their model‐based intervals than the 0 h series, indicating different short‐term patterns.