Vertical jump height measures our ability to oppose gravity and lower body neuromuscular function in athletes and various clinical populations. Vertical jump tests are principally simple, time-efficient, and extensively used for assessing athletes and generally in sport science research. Using the force platform for jump height estimates is increasingly popular owing to technological advancements and its relative ease of use in diverse settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIR Res Protoc
November 2023
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Little data exist on the effect of extremely cold-water diving on thermo-metabolic hormone secretion. Moreover, the impact of repetitive dives on the stress response is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of two daily bouts of cold-water diving on the hormonal and metabolic profile of elite military personnel and to measure the stress response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To determine the utility of countermovement-jump and Keiser leg-press tests for tracking changes in elite athletes of different sports.
Methods: Elite athletes of the Norwegian Olympic Federation (126 individuals from 18 sports) performed countermovement-jump and Keiser tests on 2 to 11 occasions between 2014 and 2021. Separate analyses were performed for male and female alpine skiing, male and female handball, male ice hockey, and males and females of other sports.
JMIR Res Protoc
March 2023
Background: Anthracycline-based chemotherapy has been mainstay of adjuvant breast cancer therapy for decades. Although effective, anthracyclines place long-term breast cancer survivors at risk of late effects, such as reduced cardiorespiratory fitness and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Previous research has shown beneficial effects of exercise training on cardiorespiratory fitness, but the effects of exercise on limiting factors for cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiovascular risk factors, and patient-reported outcomes in long-term survivors are less clear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Force-velocity profiling has been proposed in the literature as a method to identify the overall mechanical characteristics of lower extremities. A force-velocity profile is obtained by plotting for jumps at different loads the effective work as a function of the average push-off velocity, fitting a straight line to the results, and extrapolating this line to find the theoretical maximum isometric force and unloaded shortening velocity. Here we investigated whether the force-velocity profile and its characteristics can be related to the intrinsic force-velocity relationship.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: In the present intervention study, low-velocity-loss (LVL) versus high-velocity-loss (HVL) thresholds in the squat and bench press were compared for changes in muscle strength, power, and hypertrophy.
Methods: Strength-trained volunteers (7♀ and 9♂; age: 27.2 [3.
Little is known about the placebo effects when comparing training interventions. Consequently, we investigated whether subjects being told they are in the intervention group get better training results compared to subjects being told they are in a control group. Forty athletes (male: n = 31, female: n = 9) completed a 10-week training intervention (age: 22 ± 4 years, height: 183 ± 10 cm, and body mass: 84 ± 15 kg).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere is little agreement on the factors influencing endurance performance. Endurance performance often is described by surrogate variables such as maximum oxygen consumption, lactate threshold, and running economy. However, other factors also determine success and progression of high-level endurance athletes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Sports Physiol Perform
August 2022
Purpose: This study examined the associations among common assessments for measuring strength and power in the lower body of high-performing athletes, including both cross-sectional and longitudinal data.
Methods: A total of 100 participants, including both male (n = 83) and female (n = 17) athletes (21 [4] y, 182 [9] cm, 78 [12] kg), were recruited for the study using a multicenter approach. The participants underwent physical testing 4 times.
However, there is a lack of conceptual understanding of the factors influencing performance decrements in prone shooting. The present study examines how one can simulate a combat scenario by inducing acute physical stress, ultimately impacting one's shooting performance (SP). The relationship between participants' physical level and SP was measured in several ways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Sports Physiol Perform
July 2022
Purpose: This study examined the test-retest reliability of common assessments for measuring strength and power of the lower body in high-performing athletes.
Methods: A total of 100 participants, including both male (n = 83) and female (n = 17) athletes (21 [4] y, 182 [9] cm, and 78 [12] kg), were recruited for this study, using a multicenter approach. The participants underwent physical testing 4 times.
J Spec Oper Med
September 2021
Background: Special Operation Forces (SOF) operate regularly in extreme environmental conditions that may affect tactical and physical performance. The main aims of the present study were to elucidate the impact of a long cold-water swim on SOF recruits' dexterity, performance, and reaction time.
Material And Methods: Eleven recruits from Norwegian Naval Special Operation Command (NORNAVSOC) that were participating in a 10,000-m open water swim with a dry suit in 5°C cold water volunteered to participate in this study.
The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of an individualized training program based on force-velocity (FV) profiling on jumping, sprinting, strength, and power in athletes. Forty national level team sport athletes (20 ± 4years, 83 ± 13 kg) from ice-hockey, handball, and soccer completed a 10-week training intervention. A theoretical optimal squat jump (SJ)-FV-profile was calculated from SJ with five different loads (0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 kg).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Sports Physiol Perform
December 2021
Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the concurrent validity of force-velocity (FV) variables assessed across 5 Keiser leg press devices.
Methods: A linear encoder and 2 independent force plates (MuscleLab devices) were mounted on each of the 5 leg press devices. A total of 997 leg press executions, covering a wide range of forces and velocities, were performed by 14 participants (29 [7] y, 181 [5] cm, 82 [8] kg) across the 5 devices.
Int J Sports Physiol Perform
September 2021
Purpose: To determine if generic off-ice physical fitness tests can provide useful predictions of ice hockey players' match performance.
Methods: Approximately 40 to 60 defenders and 70 to 100 forwards from the Norwegian male upper ice hockey league were tested for strength (1-repetition maximum in squat and bench press), power (40-m sprint and countermovement jump), and endurance (hanging sit-ups, chins, and 3000-m run) annually at the end of every preseason period between 2008 and 2017. Measures of match performance were each player's season mean counts per match of assists, points, goals, penalty minutes, and plus-minus score.
The aim of the study was to examine the test-retest reliability and agreement across methods for assessing individual force-velocity (FV) profiles of the lower limbs in athletes. Using a multicenter approach, 27 male athletes completed all measurements for the main analysis, with up to 82 male and female athletes on some measurements. The athletes were tested twice before and twice after a 2- to 6-month period of regular training and sport participation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present randomized cross-over controlled study aimed to compare the rate of recovery from a strength-oriented exercise session vs. a power-oriented session with equal work. Sixteen strength-trained individuals conducted one strength-oriented session (five repetitions maximum (RM)) and one power-oriented session (50% of 5RM) in randomized order.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Sports Physiol Perform
November 2019
Purpose: To quantify age of peak performance and performance improvements in the years preceding peak age in elite weightlifting and powerlifting athletes using results from powerlifting World Championships in 2003-2017 and weightlifting World Championships and Olympic Games in 1998-2017.
Methods: Individual performance trends were derived by fitting a quadratic curve separately to each athlete's performance and age data. Effects were evaluated using magnitude-based inferences.
Eccentric cycling training induces muscle hypertrophy and increases joint power output in non-athletes. Moreover, eccentric cycling can be considered a movement-specific type of strength training for cyclists, but it is hitherto unknown if eccentric cycling training can improve cycling performance in trained cyclists. Twenty-three male amateur cyclists were randomized to an eccentric or a concentric cycling training group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an arduous 1-wk military course on measures of physical performance, body composition, and blood biomarkers.
Methods: Participants were apprentices in an annual selection course for the Norwegian Special Forces. Fifteen soldiers (23 ± 4 yr, 1.
Int J Sports Physiol Perform
October 2018
The aim of this study was to quantify peak age and improvements over the preceding years to peak age in elite athletic contestants according to athlete performance level, sex, and discipline. Individual season bests for world-ranked top 100 athletes from 2002 to 2016 (14,937 athletes and 57,049 individual results) were downloaded from the International Association of Athletics Federations' website. Individual performance trends were generated by fitting a quadratic curve separately to each athlete's performance and age data using a linear modeling procedure.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: This efficacy study investigated the effects of 1) Olympic-style weightlifting (OWL), 2) motorized strength and power training (MSPT), and 3) free weight strength and power training (FSPT) on muscle power.
Methods: Thirty-nine young athletes (20 ± 3 yr; ice hockey, volleyball, and badminton) were randomized into the three training groups. All groups participated in two to three sessions per week for 8 wk.
Operators in Special Operation Forces (SOF) have a particularly demanding profession where physical and psychological capacities can be challenged to the extremes. The diversity of physical capacities needed depend on the mission. Consequently, tests used to monitor SOF operators' physical fitness should cover a broad range of physical capacities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA high level of physical fitness is one important factor for optimal performance in Special Operation Forces (SOF). Still, information about physical training for SOF operators is not easily accessible. This study aimed to implement and assess a new training concept in the Norwegian Navy SOF.
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