Leg Press Machine Research Articles

Anaerobic Power Changes Following Short Term, Task Specific, Dynamic and Static Overload Training

The improvement of lower body explosive power was examined following six weeks of training by three distinct modes. These three training modes were selected to represent different portions of the wholistic athletic training model proposed by Noble. A STATIC training group performed a 30-second effort at 73 percent of maximum force using visual feedback from a digital meter. A DYNAMIC group performed three sets of eight to 12 repetitions on a Universal leg press machine, which represented a standardized strength training protocol. The final group performed a novel training mode called MOJUMP (Motivational Vertical jump) designed to motivate subjects to attain their maximum vertical jump for 10 consecutive repetitions. Each group excercised five times per week for six weeks and were pre- and post-tested for power using the Margaria stair climb and vertical jump tests along with a goniometric test of flexibility. Comparing pre-post changes using a dependent t test, DYNAMIC and MOJUMP groups significantly improved in the Margaria test, but no groups increased in flexibility. A single factor ANOVA comparing pre-post changes among the three groups showed neither group improved power to a greater extent than the others. Little relationship was found between flexibility and power, but body weight was found to be highly correlated (r = .88) to horsepower. MOJUMP was the only group to improve in vertical jump. There appears to be strong potential for this type of motivational jumping routine for the improvement of anaerobic power in athletes.