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Speed/Power Development

(33) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VERTICAL STIFFNESS AND SPRINT STEP LENGTH IN MALE DIVISION I COLLEGIATE ATHLETES

Friday, July 12, 2024
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM East Coast USA Time
Location: Exhibit Hall
Abstract Details: Vertical Stiffness is a drop jump (DJ) variable calculated as the ratio of vertical ground reaction force and vertical displacement. While an association has been shown between vertical stiffness and the storage of elastic potential energy, there has yet to be an examination of the relationship between drop jump vertical stiffness with sprint step length. Exploring this relationship can possibly introduce vertical stiffness as a beneficial calculation for athletes aiming to increase their sprint speed.

Purpose: To explore the relationship between drop jump vertical stiffness and sprint step length.

Methods: Participants consisted of 51 Division I collegiate male athletes (track=9, basketball=10, football =31). Each participant performed two to three trials of the drop jump and 30-meter sprint. The best trial of each was used for analysis. The drop jump was executed by standing on a platform at a height of 45.72 cm with the athlete’s hands akimbo and then dropping onto two force platforms. The sprint data were collected using the OptoJump Next System, which measured step lengths for four steps during the 30-meter sprint. The average step length of the four steps were used for analysis. Pearson r correlation examined the relationship between drop jump vertical stiffness, calculated using the ratio of the peak vertical ground reaction force of the first jump landing and max vertical displacement of the center of mass, and sprint step length. Significance was set to p< 0.05.

Results: The mean ± SD values for vertical stiffness for the assessed participants were 19.17 ± 19.55 kN/m and they demonstrated step length values of 208.29 ± 15.64 cm. There was a moderate positive correlation between drop jump vertical stiffness and sprint step length (r = 0.329, p = 0.020)(See Figure 1).

Conclusions: There appears to be a relationship between vertical stiffness derived from drop jump with sprint step length. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Vertical stiffness can be examined in relation to sprint step length. Vertical stiffness and step length can be further assessed to understand if improving vertical stiffness results in improvements in sprint performance.

Acknowledgements: None