Abstract
Previous studies have reported an association between global measures of bilateral strength and change of direction (COD) ability. Yet, little is known about the association between unilateral muscle strength qualities and COD ability. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between unilateral muscle strength qualities and COD measures (COD speed (CODS) and COD deficit) when matched limb-for-limb (i.e., right limb vs. right limb, left limb vs. left limb) in adolescent team-sport athletes. One hundred and fifteen athletes (56 males, 59 females) active in cricket, netball, and basketball participated in this investigation. Each player performed trials of countermovement jump (CMJ), single-leg hop (SLH), isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) and eccentric knee extensor torque (ECC-EXT) to assess muscle strength qualities and 505 and modified 505 (505mod) to evaluate COD ability. Moderate-to-large correlations were observed between SLH and CODS (r = −0.43 to −0.67). Another important finding was that CMJ measures demonstrated moderate-to-large correlations with CODS (r = −0.38 to −0.69) and small-to-moderate correlations with COD deficit (r = −0.24 to −0.45). COD is underpinned by distinct muscle strength qualities and each contribute to specific phases of a COD task. It is therefore likely that such connections exist between muscle strength qualities and COD, with all qualities contributing to overall COD ability.
Highlights
Change of direction (COD) is a dominant feature of field- and court-based sport athletes and is defined as “the ability to decelerate, reverse or change movement direction and accelerate again, and is considered pre-planned” [1]
The present findings suggest that a linear relationship does not always exist when examining associations between muscle strength qualities and change of direction (COD) measures on the same limb
The purpose of the current investigation was to explore the associations between unilateral muscle strength qualities and COD measures when matched limb-for-limb in adolescent team-sport athletes
Summary
Change of direction (COD) is a dominant feature of field- and court-based sport athletes and is defined as “the ability to decelerate, reverse or change movement direction and accelerate again, and is considered pre-planned” [1]. Elite soccer athletes perform up to 32% of directional changes of 180◦ [3,4]. The ability to change direction is important and may strongly influence periods of play whereby athletes are making a break from an opponent, or applying pressure to achieve a turnover [6]. Despite the increasing research into COD ability from a performance perspective, our understanding of unilateral muscle strength qualities that underpin COD ability remains a major challenge. A deeper understanding of the relationship between unilateral muscle strength qualities and COD ability would provide practitioners with more tangible information on the key physical determinants of COD ability and allow the development of more targeted training strategies to improve performance
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