batting, 6 change-of-direction speed, 7 weightlifting, 5 , 8 , 9 cycling, 10 jumping, 11 , 12 and throwing. 13 The advantages of the isometric midthigh pull (IMTP) are that it is relatively easy to perform while demonstrating high reliability 2 , 3 , 14 with a low measurement error. 15 , 16 The
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Thomas Dos’Santos, Paul A. Jones, Jonathan Kelly, John J. McMahon, Paul Comfort, and Christopher Thomas
Nick Dobbin, Richard Hunwicks, Ben Jones, Kevin Till, Jamie Highton, and Craig Twist
practitioners should think carefully about the selection of a valid, safe, and time-efficient measure of maximal strength. The use of the isometric midthigh pull offers a method of maximal-strength assessment that meets the aforementioned criteria. 11 – 13 The midthigh pull requires participants to stand on a
Claire J. Brady, Andrew J. Harrison, Eamonn P. Flanagan, G. Gregory Haff, and Thomas M. Comyns
Isometric tests such as the isometric midthigh pull (IMTP) and isometric squat (ISqT) allow the assessment of athletes’ strength qualities from a force–time curve and are used to assess skeletal muscle function. 1 , 2 Buckner et al 3 suggested that typical strength assessments such as 1
Luke Hogarth, Mark McKean, Max McKenzie, and Tyler Collings
between isometric midthigh pull (IMTP) peak force and court-based jumping, sprinting, and COD performance and (2) to examine changes in IMTP peak force following sport-specific training in professional female netball athletes. Methods Subjects A total of 18 female professional netball players participated
Aaron T. Scanlan, Neal Wen, Joshua H. Guy, Nathan Elsworthy, Michele Lastella, David B. Pyne, Daniele Conte, and Vincent J. Dalbo
sprints. 2 , 3 However, increased attention has been given to employing isometric tasks, namely the isometric midthigh pull (IMTP), to assess physical performance in basketball players. 4 – 7 The IMTP involves a maximal, rapid, whole-body, vertical application of force into the ground while occupying a
Dean Norris, David Joyce, Jason Siegler, James Clock, and Ric Lovell
. Traditionally, these assessments were commonly performed in laboratory settings using expensive and importable equipment such as isokinetic dynamometers. More recently, however, the isometric midthigh pull (IMTP) has become increasingly used as a strength profiling tool in elite sport settings, 16 , 17
Thomas Dos’Santos, Paul A. Jones, Jonathan Kelly, John J. McMahon, Paul Comfort, and Christopher Thomas
Purpose:
Skeletal-muscle function can be evaluated using force–times curves generated via the isometric midthigh pull (IMTP). Various sampling frequencies (500–1000 Hz) have been used for IMTP assessments; however, no research has investigated the influence of sampling frequency on IMTP kinetics. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of sampling frequency on kinetic variables during the IMTP, including peak force, time-specific force values (100, 150, and 200 ms), and rate of force development (RFD) at 3 time bands (0–100, 0–150, 0–200 ms).
Methods:
Academy rugby league players (n = 30, age 17.5 ± 1.1 y, height 1.80 ± 0.06 m, mass 85.4 ± 10.3 kg) performed 3 IMTP trials on a force platform sampling at 2000 Hz, which was subsequently down-sampled to 1500, 1000, and 500 Hz for analysis.
Results:
Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and coefficients of variation (CV) demonstrated high within-session reliability for all force and RFD variables across all sampling frequencies (ICC ≥ .80, CV ≤ 10.1%). Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed no significant differences (P > .05, Cohen d ≤ 0.009) in kinetic variables between sampling frequencies. Overall, high reliability was observed across all sampling frequencies for all kinetic variables, with no significant differences (P > .05) for each kinetic variable across sampling frequencies.
Conclusions:
Practitioners and scientists may consider sampling as low as 500 Hz when measuring peak force, time-specific force values, and RFD at predetermined time bands during the IMTP for accurate and reliable data.
Thomas Dos’Santos, Christopher Thomas, Paul A. Jones, and Paul Comfort
Purpose:
To investigate the within-session reliability of bilateral- and unilateral-stance isometric midthigh-pull (IMTP) force–time characteristics including peak force (PF), relative PF, and impulse at time bands (0–100, 0–200, 0–250, and 0–300 milliseconds) and to compare isometric force–time characteristics between right and left and dominant (D) and nondominant (ND) limbs.
Methods:
Professional male rugby league and multisport male college athletes (N = 54; age, 23.4 ± 4.2 y; height, 1.80 ± 0.05 m; mass, 88.9 ± 12.9 kg) performed 3 bilateral IMTP trials and 6 unilateral-stance IMTP trials (3 per leg) on a force plate sampling at 600 Hz.
Results:
Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficients of variation (CVs) demonstrated high within-session reliability for bilateral and unilateral IMTP PF (ICC = .94, CV = 4.7–5.5%). Lower reliability measures and greater variability were observed for bilateral and unilateral IMTP impulse at time bands (ICC = .81–.88, CV = 7.7–11.8%). Paired-sample t tests and Cohen d effect sizes revealed no significant differences for all isometric force–time characteristics between right and left limbs in male college athletes (P >.05, d ≤ 0.32) and professional rugby league players (P > .05, d ≤ 0.11); however, significant differences were found between D and ND limbs in male college athletes (P < .001, d = 0.43–0.91) and professional rugby league players (P < .001, d = 0.27–0.46).
Conclusion:
This study demonstrated high within-session reliability for unilateral-stance IMTP PF, revealing significant differences in isometric force–time characteristics between D and ND limbs in male athletes.
Christopher Thomas, Paul Comfort, Paul A. Jones, and Thomas Dos’Santos
Purpose:
To investigate the relationships between maximal isometric strength, vertical jump (VJ), sprint speed, and change-of-direction speed (CoDS) in academy netball players and determine whether players who have high performance in isometric strength testing would demonstrate superior performance in VJ, sprint speed, and CoDS measures.
Method:
Twenty-six young female netball players (age 16.1 ± 1.2 y, height 173.9 ± 5.7 cm, body mass 66.0 ± 7.2 kg) from a regional netball academy performed isometric midthigh pull (IMTP), squat jumps (SJs), countermovement jumps (CMJs), 10-m sprints, and CoDS (505).
Results:
IMTP measures displayed moderate to strong correlations with sprint and CoDS performance (r = –.41 to –.66). The VJs, which included SJs and CMJs, demonstrated strong correlations with 10-m sprint times (r = –.60 to –.65; P < .01) and CoDS (r = –.60 to –.71; P = .01). Stronger players displayed significantly faster sprint (ES = 1.1–1.2) and CoDS times (ES = 1.2–1.7) and greater VJ height (ES = 0.9–1.0) than weaker players.
Conclusion:
The results of this study illustrate the importance of developing high levels of lower-body strength to enhance VJ, sprint, and CoDS performance in youth netball players, with stronger athletes demonstrating superior VJ, sprint, and CoDS performances.
Paul Comfort, Paul. A. Jones, John J. McMahon, and Robert Newton
The isometric midthigh pull (IMTP) has been used to monitor changes in force, maximum rate of force development (mRFD), and impulse, with performance in this task being associated with performance in athletic tasks. Numerous postures have been adopted in the literature, which may affect the kinetic variables during the task; therefore, the aim of this investigation was to determine whether different knee-joint angles (120°, 130°, 140°, and 150°) and hip-joint angles (125° and 145°), including the subjects preferred posture, affect force, mRFD, and impulse during the IMTP. Intraclass correlation coefficients demonstrated high within-session reliability (r ≥ .870, P < .001) for all kinetic variables determined in all postures, excluding impulse measures during the 130° knee-flexion, 125° hip-flexion posture, which showed a low to moderate reliability (r = .666–.739, P < .001), while between-sessions testing demonstrated high reliability (r > .819, P < .001) for all kinetic variables. There were no significant differences in peak force (P > .05, Cohen d = 0.037, power = .408), mRFD (P > .05, Cohen d = 0.037, power = .409), or impulse at 100 ms (P > .05, Cohen d = 0.056, power = .609), 200 ms (P > .05, Cohen d = 0.057, power = .624), or 300 ms (P > .05, Cohen d = 0.061, power = .656) across postures. Smallest detectable differences demonstrated that changes in performance of >1.3% in peak isometric force, >10.3% in mRFD, >5.3% in impulse at 100 ms, >4.4% in impulse at 200 ms, and >7.1% in impulse at 300 ms should be considered meaningful, irrespective of posture.
