ORIGINAL ARTICLE RESEARCH YEARBOOK

© MEDSPORTPRESS, Volume 12, Nr 2, 2006, 227-231

Biomechanical Criteria for

Author’s Contribution
A – Study Design
B – Data Collection
C – Statistical Analysis
D – Data Interpretation
E – Manuscript Preparation
F – Literature Search
G – Funds Collection
Specifying the Load
Applied in Plyometric Training
in Basketball
Tadeusz Bober(A,D,E), Alicja Rutkowska-Kucharska(A,F),
Bogdan Pietraszewski(D,F), Marek Lesiecki(B)
University School of Physical Education, Wroc³aw, Poland
Biomechanics Laboratory

Key words: loading criteria, plyometric, basketball

Background:
Material and methods:
Results/Conclusions:
Abstract
A significant part of motor actions in basketball is represented by jumps,
demanding appropriate explosive strength. This muscle ability is formed
in plyometric training, which constitutes taking muscle actions in a stretch-
-shortening cycle and thus releasing the muscles' elastic energy. When
establishing the load in such exercises, one has to find solutions that wo-
uld allow developing the explosive strength and not exposing the player
to injuries resulting from an excessive load. The purpose of the study was
to look for a criterion allow establishing the load in such exercises for a gi-
ven player.
Two indices were applied to assess the muscle ability to release the
explosive strength: the Reactive Strength Index (RSI) (jump height/con-
tact time) and the K index (platform height + jump height)/contact time).
Both indices are based on drop jumping exercises. The study was carried
out with 11 basketball players. The following DJ platform heights were
used: 0.15 m, 0.3 m, 0.45 m, and 0.76 m. A Kistler dynamometric platform
was used in the study.
The analysis showed that the K index, strongly depending on the platform
height, could not be applied as an index of load choice while the RSI tur-
ned out to be more efficient in this respect.

Word count: 2214

Tables: 4 Received: May 2006
Figures: 2 Accepted: June 2006
References: 14 Published: September 2006
Address for correspondence:
Tadeusz Bober
51-612 Wroc³aw, ul. Paderewskiego 35, e-mail: tbober@awf.wroc.pl

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Tadeusz Bober et al., Biomechanical Criteria for Specifying the Applied Load in Basketball

Background
Jumps constitute a significant element in the set of motor actions in basketball. Stonkus [1] sta-
tes, on the basis of the leading teams observation, that the average number of jumps per game is be-
tween 124 and 165, which accounts for 3.1 – 4.1 jumps per minute, depending on the player's posi-
tion. One-leg take-off jumps and two-leg counter movement jumps (CMJ) are performed. The latter
ones, taking place in the situations around the basket, need to be performed especially fast. This me-
ans that a restricted downward movement and a very short take-off time are demanded. In each ca-
se, also if a player jumps with one leg when running, the counter movement is needed. A squat and
a take-off constitute a typical movement that involves muscles in the stretch-shortening cycle. This
type of muscle action sequence allows, additionally, utilising the muscles' elastic energy [2]. Howe-
ver, it demands a possibly big shortening of the coupling time from the eccentric (stretching) to the
concentric (shortening) action. The longer the coupling time, the lower the ability to retrieve the mu-
scles' elastic energy stored in the stretching phase [3]. Therefore, the training should concentrate on
developing a high force rate of the muscle ability [4], and it is the plyometric training that affects this
ability [5]. An exercise typical of plyometric training is a drop jump (DJ).
The purpose of the study was to look for a criterion which would allow establishing the load in
plyometric jumping exercises. The lower limb muscle load is expressed as the height of the DJ plat-
form. The choice of the DJ platform height has to meet the current training potential of the player on
one hand, but, on the other one, it should not lead to overloads or injuries in the motor system [6, 7].

Criterion seeking
The purpose of the exercises applied in plyometric training is to force the muscles' eccentric-con-
centric action with the shortest possible coupling time and the biggest possible concentric action ef-
fect in form of the outlet ultimate speed. This is realised through various DJ height. A question arises
which concerns the criteria of establishing the load, expressed as the height of the DJ platform ap-
propriate for developing the muscle ability to generate explosive strength. At the same time, the lo-
ading parameters of the jumps should not exceed the tolerance limit of a given player. Considering
these assumptions, we analysed two indices, found in literature, applied in the assessment of play-
ers' explosive strength potential:
• McClymont [8] suggested the Reactive Strength Index (RSI), based on a given height of the DJ.
The index, represented by the quotient of jump height (h) and ground contact time (t), refers to
both amortisation and take-off. The higher the jump and the shorter the contact time, the better:
RSI = h/t max,
where: h – jump height, t – contact time.
• A more advanced index (K) was suggested by Bartonietz [9]:
K = (H + h)/t max,
where H, standing for the DJ platform height, is included in the formula.
The latter index indirectly specifies the power (P) as moving a body mass along a distance (H + h)
in a specific period of time. Therefore, specifying an optimum dropping height (H) consists in finding
its value at which the K index adopts the maximum. Any lower value of the index points at an insuf-
ficient or excessive load.

Material and methods

The study was carried out with 11 players of a third league division basketball team, Arkadia Gó-
ra. The basic data is included in Table 1. The studied basketball players constituted a homogenous
group with reference to basic somatic parameters; considering their age and sports experience, the
sports level can be estimated as moderate. The study was performed in the certified Biomechanics
Laboratory (ISO 9001: 2001).
A dynamometric platform, an amplifier, an A/D converter, and a PC computer with BioWare softwa-
re by Kistler were used in the research. The study schedule included the CMJ and the DJ. The play-
ers taking part in the experiment were asked to reach the maximum height in each jump. The follo-
wing DJ platform heights (H) were used: 0.15 m, 0.3 m, 0.45 m, and 0.76 m. Each jump was perfor-
med twice, and their average value was accepted for analysis. The jump height (h) was calculated

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 Tadeusz Bober et al., Biomechanical Criteria for Specifying the Applied Load in Basketball

on the basis of the flight time (tl). Since the flight time was defined as the period between detaching
the feet from the platform and touching the ground while landing, the players were demanded to ke-
ep their legs straight at the moment of landing, as during the take-off.

Results
The results are presented in Table 2. The obtained average values of the jump height (h) for the
four platform heights (H) did not differ significantly at the assumed confidence level of 0.05 in the Stu-
dent t test. The same applies to the contact time (t) and the RSI. Significant differences were proved
only for the K index. The data presented in Table 3 points to a significant dependence between K and
the platform height (H). With the use of Pearson correlation coefficient it was demonstrated that ne-
ither of the indices (RSI and K) correlated significantly with the jump height (h) at any platform height
in DJ (Table 4). In turn, the RSI proved to correlate with the contact time (t) at the heights of 0.15
and 0.3 m, and the K index correlated with the contact time (t) at all heights.

Conclusions
Both indices (RSI and K) represent the relation between the jump height and the contact time in
DJ's. However, their values rise especially when the contact time shortens, which seems to speak in
favour of them, as the indices include information on the ability to release the explosive muscle
strength in a stretch-shortening cycle. The contact time prolongation could increase the jump height,
and the dependence was also proved in this research, although only for the platform height of 0.15 m
(the correlation coefficient r = 0.617). It manifests itself in mild amortisation, as well as in a lower gro-
und reaction force in the eccentric phase [10], i. e. a course of movement not favouring rapid musc-
le overload, desired in plyometric training. Opposed to deep squat and mild amortisation is a take-off
almost without such an initial phase. However, even a deliberate squat jump is not devoid of at least
a short phase of shallow pre-stretch [11]. This kind of a counter movement jump would seem to be
present during a play around the basket, when the reaction time is much limited. If this is the charac-
ter of a jump, based on the SS-C, it should be developed in a player through appropriate training [12].
In establishing a proper load, one of the above-mentioned indices can be taken into consideration. It

Tab. 1. Characteristics of the subjects. N = 11

Tab. 2. Mean and SD of the jumping height (h), contact time (t) and K and RSI indexes

Tab. 3. Statistically significant deference between K at 0.15 m and other platform heights

Tab. 4. Correlation coefficients (*statistically significant at the level of 5%)

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Tadeusz Bober et al., Biomechanical Criteria for Specifying the Applied Load in Basketball

Fig. 1. The relation between the RSI level of subject No 9 and 10 and the platform height

Fig. 2. The relation between the RSI level of subject No 1 and 2 and the platform height

turns out that the K index does not satisfy the conditions of an optimum load choice. Its individual co-
urses reflect its average values, growing together with the platform height (H) (Table 2): the K value
for each player grew together with the platform height.
The RSI proved to be more diagnostic. The players under study reacted to increasing the platform
height (H) in various ways. As depicted on four examples, the lowest platform, i. e. 0.15 m turned out
to be the optimum height, for some players (Figure 1), and 0.30 m for others (Figure 2). None of the
studied players obtained a bigger RSI when jumping off the platform 0.45 and 0.76 m high. Therefo-
re, this index seems better for the choice of platform heights for explosive strength training.
Assessing the current explosive strength potential in the studied group of basketball players con-
stitutes a separate issue. For example, the platform heights applied in the study are rather small.
Bobbert et al. [13] consider the heights between 0.2 and 0.4 m as optimum values for non-training
students, recommending even 0.75 m for high jumpers. The training that makes use of such platforms
should be associated with a specific way of performing a jump, consisting in time shortening by leg
bending limitation [14]. This was in fact how the basketball players generally performed their jumps
(although they were asked to reach the maximum heights), which is reflected in the correlation coef-
ficients (Table 4). The RSI and K values are, however, low. The explosive strength potential of the
studied players seems unfavourable for them, as compared with examples found in papers by Bar-

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 Tadeusz Bober et al., Biomechanical Criteria for Specifying the Applied Load in Basketball

tonietz [9] and McClymont [8]. A world-famous male hammer thrower studied by Bartonietz obtained
a K index of 4.6 at a 0.30 m platform, while the basketball players obtained much lower results
(from 1.17 to 3.23). McClymont, also using a 0.30 m platform, applied the RSI to assess the explosi-
ve strength potential in rugby players. An average RSI for a few players equalled 2.01 at the contact
time of 0.181 s. According to that author, they represent a satisfactory level of muscle ability to rele-
ase explosive strength. Among the studied basketball players only a few represent the index value
above 1.5 and the time value lower than 0.25 s. These comparisons prove the explosive strength of
the third league basketball players to be weak.

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