The vertical jump is an important movement, the fundamentals of which are critical in a variety of sports. Numerous strategies have been employed in literature to examine methods by which it may be improved; this has involved heavy force training (squats), plyometric training (depth jumps) and simply completing vertical jumps, all of which have been shown to enhance vertical jump performance – for a detailed review see Baker et al., 1996. Whilst the methods mentioned above have shown positive outcomes, it may be that Olympic style lifts are more effective (Baker et al., 1996).
For training to be effective it must exceed the demands of what occurs in the specific sporting movement, therefore for the training to be transferable it should replicate the kinetics, kinematics and contraction type of the specified movement. What does this mean? Essentially we are looking for the exercise to not only replicate the vertical jump but also stimulate the mechanical, muscular and neural systems to a greater degree than the sporting action itself, and thus hope to improve the movement in sport.
It stands to reason that simply completing weighted vertical jumps may be sensible based on the logic above. Indeed several studies have shown development of a vertical jump following weighted vertical jumps, from 5% to in excess of 18% (Hori et al., 2008). Studies examining Olympic lift variations have shown 3% to almost 10% improvement of vertical jump. Although there are some similairities between Olympic variations and the vertical jump, it is different in its primaray focus. The primary focus of a vertical jump, weighted or not, is to displace as much distance between the individual and the floor as possible, whereas the focus of Olympic lift variations is to displace the barbell as much as possible. Despite this we know that Olympic variations contribute significantly to the development of vertical jump performance. It would seem logical to question then, do Olympic lift varitations enhance vertical jump performance through some other mechanism than simply vertical jumping (loaded or unloaded)?
Recently Lavers et al., (2014) completed a biomechanical comparison of the vertical jump and power clean, which may go some way to examine this. In short the researchers examined three movements – the power clean (70% 1RM), vertical jump and squat jump (70% 1RM). The researchers examined maximum force production, time of force production, EMG data of the Vastus medialis, Rectus Femoris, Biceps Femoris, Glutues Medius and Medial Gastrocnemius, in an attempt to draw a more whole comparison of the separate exercises.
The main points drawn from the study were that:
- During the upward phase, the power clean and vertical jump were statsisticaly different, in terms of order of knee, hip and ankle extension. Obviously it stands to reason that the muscle activation patterns were also significantly different between the two movements
- Higher peak forces were observed during the power clean compared to the vertical jump
- Greater rate of force development was observed in the power clean, compared to the vertical jump (attributed to the double knee ben dof the power clean)
As we can see from the work of Laver et al., (2014) the power clean is biomechanically very different from the vertical jump, however Olympic variations have been shown to enhance vertical jump performance. It stands to reason there is other mechanics at play that enable performance enhancement of vertical jump from Olympic lift variations. One suggestion could be that Olympic variations enhance elements such as rate of force development to a greater extent than vertical jumps, possibly due to the double knee bend.
In conclusion, to improve vertical jump, a fundamental element of many sports, it may be appropriate to include numerous elements that each in their own build towards elements of the vertical jump. The power clean certainly being one.
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