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THE EFFECTS OF SMELLING SALTS ON BROAD JUMP AND VERTICAL LEAP

Abstract

R. Mitchell, L. Skeen, T. Ramos, S. Richmond. e-mail: Mitchell12@live.okstate.edu

Stimulants, such as ammonia inhalants (smelling salts) are commonly used by athletes prior to competition, however their effectiveness is still in question. The purpose of this project was to determine if the use of smelling salts would impact vertical leap or broad jump performance. Twelve participants (age = 20.9 +/- 1.8yrs, height = 180.8 +/- 5.7cm, weight = 81.1 +/- 8.3kg) met on two different days. The first day consisted of anthropometric assessments and the 1-repetition max estimation for both bench press and back squat. Participants were expected to bench press at least their body weight (mean = 1.1 +/- 0.2) and back squat 1.5 times their body weight (1.5 +/- 0.3). At least 48hrs later individuals completed the jump/leap exercise testing. Prior to each jump the participant had to inhale 1 of 3 randomly chosen vials containing either smelling salts/ammonia inhalant (AI), Vick’s® VapoRub® (VVR), or a control/no scent (CON). After a brief inhalation, they performed a maximal effort on both broad jump and vertical leap. The results showed no significant differences in vertical leap height or broad jump distances after inhaling the various substances. These results support previous research showing that smelling salts/ammonia inhalants have no impact on muscular power performance.

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