Vertical Jumping Tests versus Wingate Anaerobic Test in Female Volleyball Players: The Role of Age

Abstract

Single and continuous vertical jumping tests, as well as the Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT), are commonly used to assess the short-term muscle power of female volleyball players; however, the relationship among these tests has not been studied adequately. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the relationship of single and continuous vertical jumps with the WAnT in female volleyball players. Seventy adolescent (age 16.0 ± 1.0 years, body mass 62.5 ± 7.1 kg, height 170.4 ± 6.1 cm, body fat 24.2% ± 4.3%) and 108 adult female volleyball players (age 24.8 ± 5.2 years, body mass 66.5 ± 8.7 kg, height 173.2 ± 7.4 cm, body fat 22.0% ± 5.1%) performed the squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), Abalakov jump (AJ), 30 s Bosco test and WAnT (peak power, Ppeak; mean power, Pmean). Mean power in the Bosco test was correlated (low to large magnitude) with Pmean of the WAnT (r = 0.27, p = 0.030 in adolescents versus r = 0.56, p < 0.001 in adults). SJ, CMJ and AJ also correlated with Ppeak (0.28 ≤ r ≤ 0.46 in adolescents versus 0.58 ≤ r ≤ 0.61 in adults) and with Pmean (0.43 ≤ r ≤ 0.51 versus 0.67 ≤ r ≤ 0.71, respectively) of the WAnT (p < 0.05). In summary, the impact of the Bosco test and WAnT on muscle power varied, especially in the younger age group. Single jumping tests had larger correlations with WAnT in adults than in adolescent volleyball players. These findings should be taken into account by volleyball coaches and fitness trainers during the assessment of short-term muscle power of their athletes.

Core Stability and Symmetry of Youth Female Volleyball Players: A Pilot Study on Anthropometric and Physiological Correlates

“…From a physiological point of view, core stability tests lasting from 6 s to 230 s had closer affinity with anaerobic capacity (WAnT Pmean and FI) rather than muscle power (Ppeak) and muscle strength. Moreover, it has been observed that exercise duration might partially explain the similar results of two different modes (cycling versus jumping) of exercise tests [21]. With regard to the correlations of the Bosco test, it was observed that the performance on this test correlated moderately-to-largely with torso lateral flexors muscle endurance.…”

“…In exercise testing, the Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) has been considered as a "golden" standard of anaerobic power and capacity despite its specific mode of exercise (cycling) [19]. A continuous 30 s Bosco jumping test has been developed as more sport-specific than WAnT to monitor performance, especially in sports involving many jumps [20,21]. Therefore, information on the relationship of core stability and symmetry with WAnT and Bosco test would provide insight into the metabolic demands of exercise testing of the former variables.…”

Validity and Reliability of the 30-s Continuous Jump for Anaerobic Power and Capacity Assessment in Combat Sport

“…On the other hand, numerous clinical studies demonstrated that children’s muscles are characterized by lower type-II fiber proportion compared to other age groups ( Jansson, 1996 ), while for numerous other studies, these difference are scant ( Belanger and McComas, 1989 ; Davis et al, 2008 ). These characteristics could fully or partly explain difference in anaerobic power between children and adult during high-intensity efforts ( Van and Dore, 2002 ; Dotan et al, 2003 , 2012 ; Nikolaidis et al, 2016a ). Dotan et al (2003) concluded that young men were 24% more powerful per unit body mass than boys, and their lactate levels were 50% greater than levels measured in younger ages.…”

“…As mentioned, most studies investigated correlation between jump test and WAnT in young population ( De Siati et al, 2016 ; Laffaye et al, 2016 ; Nikolaidis et al, 2016a , c ), while few studies have explored the effect of age on this relationship in terms of anaerobic performance. In fact, immaturity of anaerobic metabolism is a main determinant factor that could influence the results of tests and therefore relationship between different aspect of anaerobic performance ( Van and Dore, 2002 ).…”

“…They observed correlation in muscle power and heart rate level between Bosco test and WAnT for all age groups (12–15, 15–18, 18–25, and 25–35 years). In addition, the influence of the Bosco test and WAnT on muscle power varied, especially in the younger age (≤16 years) group in Volley-ball sport ( Nikolaidis et al, 2016a ). As such, the aim of this study was to determine the test–retest reliability and concurrent validity of the continuous jump test performed over 30 s (CJ30s) for anaerobic capacity evaluation of Karate children (∼11 years), using WAnT as a reference tool.…”