Acute effect of drop jumping on throwing performance.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the acute effect of drop jumping on throwing performance. Eight men and 8 women, moderately trained subjects with basic shot put skills, performed 3 squat underhand front shot throws after a short standard warm-up. Three minutes later they performed 5 maximal consecutive drop jumps from 40 cm. Immediately after the drop jumps, they repeated the squat underhand front shot throws. On another day, their 6 repetition maximum (RM) muscular strength in leg press was assessed. Muscle biopsies were also obtained from vastus lateralis for the determination of fiber-type composition and fiber cross-sectional area. Throwing performance was significantly increased after drop jumping (8.25 +/- 1.1 m vs. 8.63 +/- 1.3 m, p < 0.01). The percentage of type II muscle fiber area was significantly related to the increase in throwing performance after drop jumping (r = 0.76, p < 0.01). The increase in throwing performance was significant in men (8.94 +/- 1 m vs. 9.60 +/- 0.9 m, p < 0.01) but not in women (7.56 +/- 1 m vs. 7.67 +/- 0.9 m, ns). Of note, the percentage of type II fiber area was higher in men than in women (M: 66.4 +/- 13%, F: 50.2 +/- 15%, p < 0.01). Leg press strength (6RM) was moderately related to the increase in throwing performance after drop jumping (r = 0.50, p < 0.05). These results suggest that drop jumping just before a throwing action induces an increase in performance in subjects with a high percentage of type II muscle fiber area and (to a lesser degree) in subjects with enhanced muscular strength.
Department of Track and Field, School of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Athens, Athens, Greece. gterzis@phed.uoa.gr
Gerasimos
G
Terzis
Konstantinos
K
Spengos
Giorgos
G
Karampatsos
Panagiota
P
Manta
Giorgos
G
Georgiadis
D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D003163:Competitive Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D018656:Muscle Fibers, Fast-Twitch / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D055070:Resistance Training / Q000379:methods*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014142:Track and Field / Q000502:physiology*