Purpose:
To analyze the reliability and validity of a simple computation method to evaluate force (F), velocity (v), and power (P) output during a countermovement jump (CMJ) suitable for use in field conditions and to verify the validity of this computation method to compute the CMJ force–velocity (F–v) profile (including unloaded and loaded jumps) in trained athletes.
Methods:
Sixteen high-level male sprinters and jumpers performed maximal CMJs under 6 different load conditions (0–87 kg). A force plate sampling at 1000 Hz was used to record vertical ground-reaction force and derive vertical-displacement data during CMJ trials. For each condition, mean F, v, and P of the push-off phase were determined from both force-plate data (reference method) and simple computation measures based on body mass, jump height (from flight time), and push-off distance and used to establish the linear F–v relationship for each individual.
Results:
Mean absolute bias values were 0.9% (± 1.6%), 4.7% (± 6.2%), 3.7% (± 4.8%), and 5% (± 6.8%) for F, v, P, and slope of the F–v relationship (SFv), respectively. Both methods showed high correlations for F–v-profile-related variables (r = .985–.991). Finally, all variables computed from the simple method showed high reliability, with ICC >.980 and CV <1.0%.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that the simple method presented here is valid and reliable for computing CMJ force, velocity, power, and F–v profiles in athletes and could be used in practice under field conditions when body mass, push-off distance, and jump height are known.
