Influence of body composition on selected jump performance measures in collegiate female athletes

Abstract

Assessing athletic performance is vital for athletes, coaches, and scientists to identify changes in performance over time and use that information to enhance the training program. Evaluating vertical jumps is a common method used to assess expression of lower body muscular force and power, as well as serving to practically predict performance outcomes.1,2,3 Additionally, vertical jump testing is reliable and valid in its estimation of explosive muscular power,4 power development,5 and as an indicator of performance.6 Two primary jumps utilized to measure athletes’ jumping ability are the squat or static jump (SJ) and countermovement vertical jump (CMJ). The SJ assesses lower-body concentric strength and power while the CMJ can assess lower-body reactive strength and power (SSC incorporation).7 The stretch shortening cycle (SSC) is highly utilized in many sports and sporting activities in which reactive ability is necessary. Furthermore, the more efficient the SSC, the better the rates of force development (RFD),8 which itself is an important determinant of athletic performance. The literature examining the physical characteristics of athletes is abundant. However, the need still exists for data investigating the relationship and predictive nature of anthropometric characteristics to athletic characteristics. Relationships of female athletes’ body composition to their athletic performance is especially important as they have a greater propensity for injury (lower limb ligamentous injuries, stress fractures, etc.) compared to their male counterparts,9,10,11 with poor body composition and the resultant power-to-weight ratio decrease as a possible culprit. However, this can be obviated by identifying discrepancies and altering the training (if necessary) to benefit the athlete (increased strength, lean body mass and decreased fat mass).12 Therefore, the purpose of this work was to determine the relationships between specific measurements of body composition and performance over a variety of vertical jumps in collegiate female athletes. The authors hypothesized that athletes with greater percentage of bone-free lean tissue mass will be better jumpers and that body composition will be a strong predictor of jumping ability. Additionally, athletes with greater reliance on jumping during competition and training are hypothesized to be the better jumpers.