Acute Effects of Loaded Half-Squat Jumps on Sprint Running Speed in Track and Field Athletes and Soccer Players

• Published in: Journal of strength and conditioning research 2016-06, Vol.30 (6), p.1540-1546
• Main Authors: Vanderka, Marián, Krčmár, Matúš, Longová, Katarína, Walker, Simon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Athletes; Athletic Performance - physiology; Humans; Male; Movement; Muscle Strength - physiology; Running; Running - physiology; Soccer; Soccer - physiology; Sports training; Track & field; Track and Field - physiology
• ISSN: 1064-8011; 1533-4287
• DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001259

ABSTRACTVanderka, M, Krčmár, M, Longová, K, and Walker, S. Acute effects of loaded half-squat jumps on sprint running speed in track and field athletes and soccer players. J Strength Cond Res 30(6)1540–1546, 2016—The purpose of the study was to determine the acute responses to a jump squat protocol designed to induce postactivation potentiation on sprint running performance in experienced track and field athletes and soccer players. Twenty-five regional level athletes (12 track and field∼17 years; ∼177 cm; ∼73 kg and 13 soccer∼18 years; ∼175 cm; ∼72 kg) performed 2 test sessions assessing 40-m sprint running performance in a balanced, crossover design. Dual-beam light timing gates measured 0–20 and 20–40 m sprint times before and after either 9 minutes of sitting (control) or 2 sets of 6 repetition half-squat jump with the load eliciting maximum power (experimental) conditions. Sprint performance was significantly enhanced over both 0–20 m (3.09 ± 0.07 to 3.04 ± 0.08 seconds; Δ ∼1.5%; p ≤ 0.05) and 20–40 m (2.42 ± 0.09 to 2.39 ± 0.09 seconds; Δ ∼1%; p ≤ 0.05) in track and field athletes only. Also, the magnitude of enhanced sprint performance was related to baseline 0–20 m sprint performance (r = 0.44; p = 0.028; n = 25). It seems that using loaded half-squat jumps to enhance sprint performance could be used in training of high-level young athletes.