Plyometric training has shown to improve vertical jump height, but the design and implementation of a plyometric training programme for adolescents requires consideration of several variables as well as the time of the season. The purpose of this study was to implement a pragmatic programme that improves vertical jump height, and to monitor the effects of a 15 week off-season plyometric and resistance training programme on the vertical jump height in adolescent female volleyball players. Ten adolescent female volleyball players (age: 15.1 ± 0.9 years, height: 1.71 ± 0.04 m, body mass: 63.6 ± 6.0 kg, volleyball training experience: 5.1 ± 1.4 years) underwent 15 weeks of plyometric and resistance training (twice and once a week, respectively). A single-targeted block periodised approach and a linear periodisation model were applied. Vertical jump height was assessed before the programme (T1), after 4 weeks (T2), after 12 weeks (T3) and at the end of the programme (T4). Jump height significantly increased by 8.8% over the full time of the investigation. No significant difference was found between T1 and T2 but for all other pairwise comparisons. Similarly, leg power was observed to increase by 6.5% (P = 0.001). The 15-weeks training programme showed to improve jump height and leg power. In consideration of its practical nature and its results in comparison with similar intervention studies, the programme suggests practical relevance for coaches.
The bench press is commonly used to measure upper-body strength. While much emphasis has been placed on the upper-body, little is known about how the lower-body can play a role in bench press performance. Leg-drive is a technique that includes flexing the knee so the feet line up posterior to the knee joint, while simultaneously contracting the knee extensors isometrically during the lift. The purpose of this study was to compare strength characteristics of lifters in a standard bench press versus a leg-drive bench press over the course of 5-weeks of training.
Twenty-three recreationally active males (age: 22.4 ± 2.1 years, height: 175.0 ± 5.9 cm, mass: 78.4 ± 9.5 kg) were randomized into a standard bench or leg-drive bench press group. Participants performed four sets to failure, two times per week for five weeks. Variables of interests were training volume and 1-repetition maximum (1RM) strength. For training volume, a 2 × 5 (group × week) repeated measures analysis of variance (RMANOVA) was used. For the 1RM’s, a 2 × 2 × 2 (group × press type × time) RMANOVA was used. A priori alpha levels were set to 0.05.
Over time, both groups showed an approximate 6% increase in 1RM strength. Training volume for week 4 was 5.6% less than week 5, but was not different from weeks 1 through 3. No between-group differences were observed for 1RM strength or training volume.
This results of this work indicates that 5 weeks of leg-drive training is effective in increasing 1RM strength, but was not more effective than standard bench press training. Practically, lifters should choose either lifting style based on personal preference.
This study aimed to describe self-selected intensity and its relationship to performance during a high-intensity all-out judo protocol, and to verify whether athletes with different anaerobic speed reserve (ASR) perform differently during a high-intensity all-out interval uchi-komi (judo-specific skill).
We analyzed the performance of 28 judo athletes as a whole group and divided into groups, according to their ASR. They performed several judo-specific protocols using a specific skill: maximal speed sprint (MSS) and maximal aerobic speed (MAS), and high-intensity intermittent uchi-komi protocol (12 × 20 s all-out:10 s passive recovery).
The main results demonstrated a decrease in the number of repetitions and an increase in heart rate across the sets. Athletes with greater ASR performed a higher number of repetitions, compared to the low ASR group, and they were able to exercise at a higher percentage of the MAS (low ASR = 126%; SD = 13%; high ASR = 152%, SD = l9%) and at a lower percentage of MSS compared to the low ASR group (low ASR = 84%, SD = 7%; high ASR = 76%, SD = 11%). However, both groups exercised at a similar percentage of their own ASR during the protocol (low ASR = 50%, SD = 20%; high ASR = 53%, SD = 19%).
Athletes with different ASR seem to set their pace at around 50% of their ASR within an all-out uchi-komi protocol. Therefore, the ASR is useful for predicting performance during high-intensity judo-specific interval exercise intervals.