JC's Musings

Are Jump-landing Rates The Problem?

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I've been talking about reducing the magnitude of the peak landing vertical ground reaction forces (VGRF) as a means to reduce impact injuries associated with jump training. Another important factor to consider is the loading rates. In addition to the peak VGRF, how quickly these peak forces occur after impact with the ground, can give an indication of the mechanical stress applied to the body. It's reasonable to assume that a shorter rise time to peak force is associated with greater mechanical stress on the neuromuscular and tendinous structures.

I've shown the table in a previous post from the study of Argus et al (2011), where we focused on the peak impact forces. Now let's focus on the effect of assisted and resisted jump training on the loading rate data. You'll see that assisted jumping not only affects the peak VGRF but also reduces the loading rate. The volume, magnitude of and how quickly these forces occur (rise time) are factors to be aware of when preparing your athletes for jump training.

Argus, C. K., Gill, N. D., Keogh, J. W., Blazevich, A. J., & Hopkins, W. G. (2011). Kinetic and training comparisons between assisted, resisted, and free countermovement jumps. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(8), 2219-2227.