title: Analysis of biomechanical quantities during a squat jump: evaluation of a performance index.
abstract: In this study, a procedure for evaluating the performance of an athlete in a squat jump has been developed. The athletes were divided into 2 categories according to their level of merit: elite athletes and non-elite athletes. In some of the subjects, the vertical component of acceleration during the squat jump was acquired with a uniaxial accelerometer. The acceleration-time curves obtained for each category of athletes were analyzed. Some analysis parameters suitable for establishing an athletic training level index were determined. A threshold value for this index that can be used to check gesture learning was also established, allowing the index to be used as a parameter for defining sport performance in a squat jump; thus it can also be used, during the training of an athlete, as the performance index to which reference should be made.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Meccanica e Tecnologie Industriali, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy. bernardo.innocenti@unifi.it
authors.forename: Bernardo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Innocenti
authors.forename: Duccio
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Facchielli
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Torti
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verza
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D013178:Sports Medicine / Q000295:instrumentation