An investigation into the relationship between maximum Isometric strength and vertical jump performance

Abstract: Thomas, C, Jones, PA, Rothwell, J, Chiang, CY, and Comfort, P. An investigation into the relationship between maximum isometric strength and vertical jump performance. J Strength Cond Res 29(8): 2176–2185, 2015—Research has demonstrated a clear relationship between dynamic strength and vertical jump (VJ) performance; however, the relationship of isometric strength and VJ performance has been studied less extensively. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between isometric strength and performance during the squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ). Twenty-two male collegiate athletes (mean ± SD; age = 21.3 ± 2.9 years; height = 175.63 ± 8.23 cm; body mass = 78.06 ± 10.77 kg) performed isometric midthigh pulls (IMTPs) to assess isometric peak force (IPF), maximum rate of force development, and impulse (IMP) (I100, I200, and I300). Force-time data, collected during the VJs, were used to calculate peak velocity, peak force (PF), peak power (PP), and jump height. Absolute IMTP measures of IMP showed the strongest correlations with VJ PF (r = 0.43–0.64; p ≤ 0.05) and VJ PP (r = 0.38–0.60; p ≤ 0.05). No statistical difference was observed in CMJ height (0.33 ± 0.05 m vs. 0.36 ± 0.05 m; p = 0.19; ES = –0.29) and SJ height performance (0.29 ± 0.06 m vs. 0.33 ± 0.05 m; p = 0.14; ES = –0.34) when comparing stronger to weaker athletes. The results of this study illustrate that absolute IPF and IMP are related to VJ PF and PP but not VJ height. Because stronger athletes did not jump higher than weaker athletes, dynamic strength tests may be more practical methods of assessing the relationships between relative strength levels and dynamic performance in collegiate athletes