Predictive ability of the medicine ball chest throw and vertical jump tests for determining muscular strength and power in adolescents

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study examined the predictive ability of the medicine ball chest throw and vertical jump for muscular strength and power in adolescents. One hundred and ninety adolescents participated in this study. Participants performed trials of the medicine ball chest throw and vertical jump, with vertical jump peak power calculated via an estimation equation. One-repetition maximum and peak power for the chest press and leg press were assessed using pneumatic exercise machines. The medicine ball chest throw strongly correlated with chest press one-repetition maximum and peak power, while the vertical jump peak power strongly correlated with leg press one-repetition maximum and peak power. The predictive ability of medicine ball chest throw was better than vertical jump peak power for muscular strength and power when controlling for sex, age, height, weight, and maturation, and was not affected by involvement in sports. Results show good predictive ability of the medicine ball chest throw for muscular strength and power in adolescents, while predictable ability of vertical jump peak power is weakened when other factors are taken into account.