Association Between Force-Time Curve Characteristics and Vertical Jump Performance in Trained Athletes.

Countermovement jump (CMJ) has been extensively used in training; yet, limited and contradictory kinematic data are available for trained subjects. To our best knowledge, no other studies have evaluated the associations between force-time curve characteristics and CMJ in a large sample of trained athletes using a linear transducer. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the association between force-time measures and CMJ performance collected with a linear transducer. Thirty-five trained athletes were asked to perform 3 maximal weighted CMJ using a linear transducer attached to a barbell (17 kg). The data indicated that the maximal rate of force development (RFD(max)) was strongly related to CMJ displacement (r = 0.809/0.807, p < 0.001) and also to the percentage of peak force (r = -0.823/-0.809, p < 0.001) at RFD(max). Velocity and displacement at RFD(max) were not correlated to CMJ height. It was therefore concluded that the percentage of PF applied at RFD(max) and RFD(max) were the best predictive variables for CMJ performance in this study.