THE EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL-LOADING DURING DAILY LIVING ON JUMP PERFORMANCE IN RUGBY ATHLETES

Authors

A Charles
K Shelton
K Long
H Freeland
C Thomas
G Tedford
V Pribyslavska
EM Scudamore

Abstract

Anaëlle Charles¹, Katherine Shelton¹, Kayle Long¹, Hannah Freeland¹, Cortni Thomas¹, Garrett Tedford¹, Veronika Pribyslavska¹, Eric M. Scudamore^{1 1}Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas

PURPOSE: The effects of external-loading during daily living (ELDL) on counter-movement jump(CMJ) and four continuous jump(4CJ) performance in collegiate rugby athletes were evaluated. METHODS: Eleven male collegiate rugby athletes participated in this study. Participants completed two familiarization trials before testing to reduce a learning effect. For baseline measurements, participants performed three CMJs and three sets of 4CJ. Afterwards, participants were randomly assigned to an ELDL (n= 7) or control group (n= 4). The ELDL group wore weighted vests for 3 weeks, ≥4 days/week, and for ≥8 hours/day outside of practice. Vest loads were approximately 10%, 12%, and 15% of individual participants’ body mass for the first, second and third week, respectively. Following the 3 weeks, participants returned for post-treatment testing. A force plate was used to quantify jump height, power, and ground contact time (GCT). Difference scores between post-treatment and baseline were calculated for jump height, jump power and GCT. A one-tail t-test was used to compare performance variables between groups. RESULTS: Table 1 contains descriptive statistics for the performance variables. There were no significant differences between the ELDL and control groups for jump height, power, and GCT. Notably, power during the CMJ approached significance (p= 0.06). In addition, a large effect size was found for power (d= 1.70) and height (d= 0.86) during the CMJ and for GCT (d= 1.31) during4CJs. CONCLUSION: ELDL may result in practical improvements in CMJ power and GCT performances, which can be beneficial for anaerobic athletes in sports such as rugby. However, the sample size was small and further testing is warranted.

Recommended Citation

Charles, A; Shelton, K; Long, K; Freeland, H; Thomas, C; Tedford, G; Pribyslavska, V; and Scudamore, EM (2019) "THE EFFECTS OF EXTERNAL-LOADING DURING DAILY LIVING ON JUMP PERFORMANCE IN RUGBY ATHLETES," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 11: Iss. 7, Article 26.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol11/iss7/26