Human movement science
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Human movement science · Feb 2014
Body size and countermovement depth confound relationship between muscle power output and jumping performance.
A number of studies based on maximum vertical jumps have presumed that the maximum jump height reveals the maximum power of lower limb muscles, as well as the tested muscle power output predicts the jumping performance. The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that both the body size and countermovement depth confound the relationship between the muscle power output and performance of maximum vertical jumps. Sixty young and physically active males were tested on the maximum countermovement (CMJ) and squat jumps (SJ). ⋯ Both jumps revealed stronger relationships with Ppeak than with Pavg (p<.05) when controlled for either body mass or both body mass and countermovement depth. We conclude that both body size (in CMJ and SJ) and countermovement depth (in CMJ) confound the relationship between the muscle power output with the performance of maximum vertical jumps. Regarding routine assessments of muscle power from jumping performance and vice versa, the use of CMJ is recommended, while Ppeak, rather than Pavg, should be the variable of choice.