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DIFFERENCE IN COUNTERMOVEMENT JUMPS ON FORCEPLATES USING A TARGET VS NO TARGET

Abstract

The countermovement jump (CMJ) is a performance test that has been utilized for many years and has grown in popularity with the increasing use of forceplates. One potential limitation to this exercise would be if participants are providing a true maximal effort when simply told ‘jump as high as you can’. PURPOSE: To assess potential differences in performance metrics of a CMJ when using an external cue or target. METHODS: Following a brief generalized warm-up, thirty (13 males, 17 females) college students (mean +/- SD, age: 21.5+/-4.0y, height: 170.2+/-9.6cm, weight: 74.8+/-16.4kg) performed countermovement jump (CMJ) under two different conditions. One condition utilized a padded block approximately 15cm in height (YB) and the other condition did not utilize the block (NB). Using Hawkin Dynamics forceplates, two attempts of the CMJ were performed with hands on hips for each condition. A dependent t-test was used to compare results between the two jumping conditions. RESULTS: The extra padding on the forceplates did increase system weight by about 12N or 1.6%. When jumping on to the padded block, there was a significant decline in calculated jump height (YB: 0.23+/-0.09m vs NB: 0.28+/-0.09m). However, the attempts using the padded block had a significantly higher peak force production than the attempts not using the block (YB: 1956.4+/-582.6N vs NB: 1764.7+/-535.3N, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The use of a visual goal did result in greater force production even though the jump height was lower. These results do partially support the notion that individuals may provide a greater effort (higher force) if there is a visual goal, but it may come at the expense of other performance metrics (jump height).

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