Optimum power load profile in squat and countermovement jump protocols

The study aimed to analyze the optimal power load in the squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) protocols considering raw values and scaled by body mass (BM), and in addition, to determine the mean propulsive velocity (MPV) associated at the optimum power load in SJ and CMJ.

Twenty-two recreationally active men performed the CMJ and SJ considering different loads (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% of BM). Analysis of variance for repeated measures with Bonferroni post hoc test was used to compare the CMJ and SJ metrics among different conditions (0% to 50% of BM) with the level of significance set at 5%.

In general, there was a decrease in CMJ and SJ performance metrics (jump height, peak and mean power output relative and absolute, and MPV) at higher loads (p < 0.05).

We concluded that the optimum power load for CMJ and SJ were at 0% BM taking peak power output and mean power output as outcome variables. The identification of optimum power zone did not differ if using absolute or relative power (scaled by BM). The MVP related to the optimum power load zone differed between CMJ and SJ.