Changes in Strength and Power Qualities Over Two Years in Volleyball Players Transitioning From Junior to Senior National Team

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the changes in performance indicators as they relate to strength and speed-strength development, over 2 years in a group of volleyball players who successfully transitioned from age group (U21) to senior national team in that time period. Sixteen male subjects (age: 18.5 ± 1.5 years, height: 2.00 ± 0.06 m, and weight: 88.4 ± 7.7 kg) participated in this 2-year longitudinal study. During the 24-month period of this investigation, all the subjects gained professional European contracts and also debuted with at least 1 senior national team match. These included, at a minimum, not only international friendly matches but also senior continental championships, World Championships, and the World Cup. Testing included 1 repetition maximum (1RM) and 3RM for the clean and squat, a maximum effort counter movement vertical jump (CMVJ), depth jump from a 0.35-m box (DJ), spike jump (with approach) (SPJ), and lower body speed-strength assessment with a body weight and body weight + 50% load. Large magnitude increases were observed for CMVJ, DJ, and SPJ over the 2-year period (d = 0.80, 0.82, and 0.94, respectively, p < 0.001). Unloaded (body weight) and loaded jump-squat performance also exhibited large improvements for all measured parameters, with very large increases in jump height in the unloaded (d = 1.21, p = 0.002) and loaded jump squat (d = 1.346, p < 0.001). Very large magnitude changes in 1RM Clean and 3RM Squat (d = 1.56 and 2.21, respectively, p < 0.001) were observed over the 2-year investigation period, and a large increase (d = 1.18, p < 0.001) in the lean mass ratio (mass/sum skinfolds). To progress from junior representation to senior national team, volleyball players must increase their CMVJ and SPJ. This is best accomplished through increasing lean mass, reducing fat mass, improving strength and speed strength, and developing high levels of stretch-load tolerance in stretch-shorten cycle activity.

Changes in Sprint, Change of Direction, and Jump Performance during a Competitive Season in Male Lacrosse Players

“…In sports where relative strength is of importance, training should be aimed at increasing strength and power, while maintaining very low fat mass to reduce stress placed on the musculoskeletal system [23]. The combination of greater body mass, and reduced skin fold thickness, could lead to similar or faster sprint times, leading to greater momentum, which is likely to result in an increase in impact force during collisions, in turn increasing the difficulty for an opponent to stop or tackle the player.…”

“…National level softball athletes have shown to increase peak velocity and peak power in the jump squats, as well as increases in absolute and relative lower body strength through pre-, mid-and post-season performance testing whilst partaking in a periodized resistance training programme [22]. Sheppard et al [23] found changes in jump, and strength performance over two years in volleyball players as they transitioned from junior to senior national playing level. Little scientific evidence, however, exists regarding the magnitude of change in performance measures that can be expected over a long-term period in lacrosse players.…”

“…football and basketball players) [5,6]. To the author's knowledge, these are the only two studies on male lacrosse players, describing the physiological needs of lacrosse, and detailing performance variables for male club players [4,6].Several studies have documented the physiological and anthropometric characteristics of professional athletes [8][9][10][11] Although these studies have described the physical characteristics of professional athletes and provided insight into the physiological demands of several sports such as soccer [9], lacrosse [7,12] Extensive research has examined the magnitude of change in performance expected over short periods of time in highly trained athletes [15][16][17] and more recently over extended periods of time [18][19][20][21][22][23]. Appleby et al…”

“…Extensive research has examined the magnitude of change in performance expected over short periods of time in highly trained athletes [15][16][17] and more recently over extended periods of time [18][19][20][21][22][23]. Appleby et al [18] found 6.5-11.5% increases in upper and lower body strength over 2 years in rugby union players, whereas increases in upper body strength of approximately 23% have been observed over 10 years in elite rugby league players [20].…”

Biomechanical Assessment of the Strength of Volleyball Players in Different Stages of the Training Macrocycle

“…The isokinetic method is one of the methods which are used the most frequently to assess the strength capacity of the groups of muscles which act on the knee joint and evaluate the function of the knee joint after injuries have been sustained [14,15,16,17]. Such studies have involved, among others, the members of the national teams of Brazil [8], Spain [18], and Australia [10,19], as well as league players [5,20,21,22,23].…”