Determination of Vertical Jump as a Measure of Neuromuscular Readiness and Fatigue

Abstract

Watkins, CM, Barillas, SR, Wong, MA, Archer, DC, Dobbs, IJ, Lockie, RG, Coburn, JW, Tran, TT, and Brown, LE. Determination of vertical jump as a measure of neuromuscular readiness and fatigue. J Strength Cond Res 31(12): 3305-3310, 2017-Coaches closely monitor training loads and periodize sessions throughout the season to create optimal adaptations at the proper time. However, only monitoring training loads ignores the innate physiological stress each athlete feels individually. Vertical jump (VJ) is widely used as a measure of lower-body power, and has been used in postmatch studies to demonstrate fatigue levels. However, no pretraining monitoring by VJ performance has been previously studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity of VJ as a measure of readiness and fatigue on a daily sessional basis. Ten healthy resistance-trained males (mass = 91.60 ± 13.24 kg; height = 179.70 ± 9.23 cm; age = 25.40 ± 1.51 years) and 7 females (mass = 65.36 ± 12.29 kg; height = 162.36 ± 5.75 cm; age = 25.00 ± 2.71 years) volunteered to participate. Vertical jump and BRUNEL Mood Assessment (BAM) were measured 4 times: pre-workout 1, post-workout 1, pre-workout 2, and post-workout 2. Workout intensity was identical for both workouts, consisting of 4 sets of 5 repetitions for hang cleans, and 4 sets of 6 repetitions for push presses at 85% 1 repetition maximum (1RM), followed by 4 sets to failure of back squats (BSs), Romanian deadlift, and leg press at 80% 1RM. The major finding was that VJ height decrement (-8.05 ± 9.65 cm) at pre-workout 2 was correlated (r = 0.648) with BS volume decrement (-27.56 ± 24.56%) between workouts. This is important for coaches to proactively understand the current fatigue levels of their athletes and their readiness to resistance training.

Test–retest reliability of physical fitness tests among young athletes: The FITescola® battery

“…In our investigation, we found the vertical jump test to have a high agreement between trials, although this measure was better among girls than among boys. Hypothetically, the differences in jump height between trials can be due to systematic bias, such as the athlete's emotional stress (Schaal et al, 2011) or fatigue (Watkins et al, 2017), and variation in jumping mechanics (Attia et al, 2017). However, our overall findings indicate that the horizontal jump test and the vertical jump test may be an appropriate ecologic alternative to laboratory tests examining lower limb strength.…”

The Difference in Neuromuscular Fatigue and Workload During Competition and Training in Elite Cricketers

“…For example, following exercise that heavily utilises the stretch shortening cycle (SSC), such as endurance running, reductions in drop jump, but not CMJ height, have been reported 9 . Additionally, fatigue-induced changes in CMJ height are correlated with the back-squat load but not any other mechanically dissimilar exercises 10 . The two wicket keepers in the study showed a relatively large change of 10% CMJ height.…”

“…In conjunction with further exploring the alterations in jump strategy associated with changing neuromuscular function, the suitability of one test to assess neuromuscular function within a team has not been fully explored. Previous research demonstrates that there appears to be a task specificity to assessing neuromuscular function 9,10 . Given the multitude of different biomechanical and physiological requirements in cricket 11 it may be the case a single test will not capture the neuromuscular demands of each position and consequently not be a suitable to detect changes in fatigue.…”

The effects of measurement error and testing frequency on the fitness-fatigue model applied to resistance training: A simulation approach

“…A simulation-based approach was adopted to quantify the effects of measurement error and testing frequency on fitness-fatigue model parameter estimates and performance prediction for two hypothetical athletes (intermediate and advanced). The vertical jump was selected as the performance measurement tool due to its popularity in athlete monitoring and potential to be used daily [20]. A range of mechanical variables including power, impulse and jump height were considered for the simulation study.…”

“…As a result, the ability to model and predict fitness of team sport athletes as suggested above, may require performance tests that can be completed at high weekly frequencies. The vertical jump is the most popular means of obtaining frequent assessments of an athlete's physical capability and can be used daily without causing acute or chronic declines in performance [20] Additionally, a range of mechanical variables (e.g. impulse, power, rate of force development) can be extracted during vertical jumps to assess various features of the neuromuscular system [17,21].…”