The Impact of Aquatic Training on Athletic Performance and Physical Recovery in Competitive Athletes: A Meta-Analysis

ABSTRACT: Zheng, S, Wang, S, Cao, Q, and Li, H. The impact of aquatic training on athletic performance and physical recovery in competitive athletes: A meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2026-To evaluate the effects of aquatic training on performance and physical recovery in competitive athletes, particularly its impact on explosive power, speed, agility, strength, aerobic capacity, and balance. This study used a meta-analysis approach to search relevant literature in the Web of Science and Scopus databases since their inception. The selected studies were limited to English-language articles that met predefined inclusion criteria. All included studies were randomized controlled trials or controlled experiments, with subjects being competitive athletes with a systematic training background. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were used for data analysis, and statistical analysis was conducted using R (version 4.3.0). A total of 13 studies were included in the analysis, with 392 subjects. Aquatic training significantly improved athletes' explosive power (SMD = 0.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.0.50 to 1.07, p < 0.001), speed (SMD = 1.14, 95% CI = 0.89 to 1.38, p < 0.001), and agility (SMD = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.0.15 to 0.78, p = 0.004). However, the improvement in strength (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI = -0.32 to 0.96, p = 0.321) and balance (SMD = 0.42, 95% CI = -0.35 to 1.19, p = 0.282) was not statistically significant, and there was high heterogeneity in the studies on aerobic capacity (SMD = 1.92, 95% CI = -1.47 to 5.32, p = 0.267). In addition, aquatic training showed a modest yet positive effect on physical recovery, including improvements related to injury rehabilitation and fatigue relief (SMD = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.12 to 0.63, p = 0.004). As an effective supplementary training method, aquatic training significantly enhances athletic performance, especially in explosive power, speed, and agility. It has beneficial effects on injury recovery and post-training fatigue reduction. Although the effects on strength and aerobic capacity require further validation, aquatic training has proven to be an important tool in sports training and rehabilitation with promising application potential.