Force-velocity-power profiling in flywheel squats: Differences between sports and association with countermovement jump and change of direction performance.

The objectives of our study were 1) to examine whether the force-velocity-power () outcomes in the concentric and eccentric phases of flywheel (FW) squats differ among sports disciplines and 2) to investigate the association between outcome variables and two key sport-performance indicators: countermovement jump height (CMJ) and change of direction (CoD) time involving 90° or 180° turns. Tests were performed by 469 athletes from five different sport disciplines and physical education students. Our results showed that outcomes, when measured during the eccentric phase of the FW squat, effectively differed between athletes from different sports. However, during the concentric phase of the squat, only for the variable differences between sports were found. Contrary to our hypothesis, there were no statistically significant correlations between FW squat outcomes and CMJ or CoD test results. These results suggest that outcomes derived from FW squats may lack external validity and cannot be reliably used as a predictor of athletes' jumping and agility performance. The paper discusses possible reasons for the larger differences between sports in eccentric outcomes, as well as the absence of correlations between outcomes and functional tests.