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Comparison of countermovement jump–derived reactive strength index modified and underpinning force-time variables between super league and championship rugby league players

McMahon, JJ; Jones, PA; Comfort, P

Comparison of countermovement jump–derived reactive strength index modified and underpinning force-time variables between super league and championship rugby league players Thumbnail


Authors



Abstract

The countermovement jump (CMJ) is regularly tested in rugby league (RL), with recent work reporting reactive strength index modified (RSImod) to distinguish between levels of play. Differences in CMJ-derived RSImod and underpinning force-time variables between English Super League (SL) and RL Championship (RLC) players are, however, unknown. As SL and RLC teams compete against each other, this study addressed this knowledge gap. Sixty RL players from the English SL (n = 30) and RLC (n = 30) performed 3 CMJs on a force platform at the start of the preseason training. The RSImod was calculated by dividing jump height (JH) by time to take-off (TTT), and several other variables were also extracted from the force-time record. The SL players achieved a significantly higher (large effect) RSImod by performing the CMJ with a significantly shorter (large effect) TTT but a similar (small effect) JH. The SL players achieved the shorter TTT through a significantly reduced (large effects) relative displacement during both the countermovement (combined unweighting and braking displacement) and propulsion phases but a significantly higher (moderate effects) propulsion peak force and power. The relationships between TTT and relative countermovement (r = 0.719, p < 0.001) and propulsion (r = 0.771, p < 0.001) displacement for combined group data were very large. Practitioners working in RL should, therefore, consider reporting RSImod and TTT, alongside JH, after CMJ force-time testing. We also suggest that RL players who produce lower RSImod scores would benefit from being trained to produce larger CMJ propulsion forces over a shallower range of hip, knee, and ankle extension.

Citation

McMahon, J., Jones, P., & Comfort, P. (2019). Comparison of countermovement jump–derived reactive strength index modified and underpinning force-time variables between super league and championship rugby league players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003380

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 3, 2019
Online Publication Date Nov 7, 2019
Publication Date Nov 7, 2019
Deposit Date Dec 3, 2019
Publicly Available Date Nov 7, 2020
Journal Journal of Strength and Conditioning research
Print ISSN 1064-8011
Electronic ISSN 1533-4287
Publisher Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
DOI https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003380
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003380
Related Public URLs https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/default.aspx