Relationship between vertical jump and maximal power output of legs and arms: Effects of ethnicity and sport

Abstract

The hypothesis that ethnicity and sport practice influence the relationship between maximal power in cycling (P(max)) and countermovement jump (CMJ) has been studied by relating CMJ and P(max) in two groups (volleyball players, VB, and physical education students, PES) including subjects with Caucasian (67 C) or West African (39 WA) origins. Maximal power of the arms (P(max) Arms) was also measured. A two-way analysis of variance (groups × ethnicity) showed significant effects of both factors upon CMJ, which was higher in WA and VB, P = 0.002 and P < 0.001, respectively. Within WA, CMJ was significantly higher in VB (0.732 ± 0.057 m) than in PES (0.661 ± 0.082 m), although there was no difference in P(max) (14.7 ± 1.7 vs 14.7 ± 1.9 W/kg). CMJ was significantly higher in WA (0.69 ± 0.08 vs 0.65 ± 0.09 m in C, P = 0.002) without significant interethnic difference in P(max) (14.7 ± 1.8 in WA, and 14.8 ± 1.9 W/kg in C). The CMJ-P(max) relationships were different in C and WA (P = 0.003). Therefore, CMJ predicted from P(max) would be underestimated in WA. The same difference was observed for the relationship between CMJ and P(max) Arms. These results were confirmed by the comparison with previous P(max) -CMJ relationship in the literature, collected in Caucasian and African subjects with the same protocols.

Effects of ethnicity on the relationship between vertical jump and maximal power on a cycle ergometer

“…Based on previous studies (Rouis et al, 2015), the results of the present study indicated that ethnicity significantly impacted the Pmax-VJ relationship. Indeed, the results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that, for a given value of Pmax, the Afro-Caribbean participants jumped on average 8 cm higher than the Caucasians.…”

“…However, a number of studies have highlighted that the Pmax-VJ relationship is impacted by ethnicity (Rouis et al, 2015). For example, for a given value of VJ, Pmax of West African volleyball players was lower than Pmax of their Caucasian counterparts.…”

“…All of these studies found that Afro-Carribean males (Rouis et al, 2015; Zajac et al, 2000), young boys (Babel et al, 2005; Ben Ayed et al, 2011; Ghesquière and Eeckels, 1984; Malina, 1988), and adolescents (Burfoot, 1992) jumped higher than their white counterparts. In addition, a greater ability of Afro-Carribean participants has been extended more generally to locomotor skills in preschool children, for activities such as running, hopping, leaping or sliding (Goodway et al, 2010).…”

“…While some studies showed that Pmax of Afro-Carribean participants was lower than that of their Caucasian counterparts (Ben Ayed et al, 2011; Rouis et al, 2015), others found that Pmax was similar in both ethnic groups (Burfoot, 1992) or higher for Caucasian compared with Afro-Carribean participants (Zajac et al, 2000). Since cycling is a complex cyclical activity requiring a specific coordination of the lower limb muscles, few authors have suggested that the contrasting results obtained on Pmax performance might stem from a practice effect (Ben Ayed et al, 2011; Vandewalle et al, 1987).…”

Validation of a force platform clinical for the assessment of vertical jump height

“…The height (in meter; m) reached in a vertical jump is generally considered the gold standard of determining the muscular power of the lower extremities (Earp et al, 2010; Rouis et al, 2015) and is also an indicator of anaerobic fitness (Ostojić et al, 2010). In addition, jump height can provide information concerning the functional capacity of different populations (Amonette et al, 2012;Farias et al, 2013) and physical performance in several sports (Ziv and Lidor, 2010a;Ziv and Lidor, 2010b).…”