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Association Division I athletes from 6 different sports per-
easuring and monitoring the performance
formed 2 squat jumps and 2 countermovement jumps on
characteristics of athletes is vital for sport sci-
a force platform. Pre-stretch augmentation percentage entists and strength and conditioning practi-
(PSAP), eccentric utilization ratio (EUR), and reactive tioners to understand how various types of
strength (RS) for jump height (JH) and peak power (PP) training affect an athlete’s overall performance (23). The
magnitudes, and reactive strength index–modified (RSI- ability of athletes to effectively use the stretch-shortening cycle
mod) were calculated for each team. A series of one-way (SSC) is an important performance aspect in many sports
analyses of variance with a Holm-Bonferroni sequential (8,17). The SSC has been defined as a naturally occurring
adjustment were used to compare differences in PSAP, muscle action that consists of a combination of eccentric and
EUR, RS, and RSImod between teams. Statistical differen- concentric muscle actions, where the stored energy of the
ces in RSImod (p , 0.001) existed between teams, eccentric action enhances the concentric action (4,18). A com-
whereas no statistical differences in PSAP-JH (p = mon method of assessing an athlete’s ability to use the SSC
0.150), PSAP-PP (p = 0.200), EUR-JH (p = 0.150), EUR-
involves comparing the performance characteristics of an ath-
lete’s squat jump (SJ) and countermovement jump (CMJ) (16).
PP (p = 0.200), RS-JH (p = 0.031), or RS-PP (p = 0.381)
Previous researchers have used pre-stretch augmentation
were present. The relationships between PSAP, EUR, and
percentage (PSAP), eccentric utilization ratio (EUR), and
RS measures were all statistically significant and ranged
reactive strength (RS) calculations to indirectly examine the
from strong to nearly perfect (r = 0.569–1.000), while most ability of an athlete to use the SSC to improve their jump
of the relationships between PSAP, EUR, and RS measures and height (JH) and peak power (PP) during a vertical jump
RSImod were trivial to small (r = 0.192–0.282). Pre-stretch (8,12,17,23). These calculations may also be used as an indi-
augmentation percentage and EUR, RS, and RSImod values cator of dynamic performance capacity (8) or to determine
indicate that women’s tennis, men’s soccer, and men’s soccer how athletes respond to different phases of training during
teams may use the SSC most effectively, respectively. Pre- the training year (17). After the JH or PP of the SJ and CMJ
stretch augmentation percentage, EUR, RS, and RSImod values have been determined, subtle differences in how PSAP,
may show vastly different results when comparing an individual’s EUR, and RS are calculated provide sport scientists and
and a team’s ability to use the SSC. Practitioners should con- practitioners with a percentage, ratio, or absolute difference
between the SJ and CMJ, respectively. Briefly, PSAP is cal-
culated using the equation ([CMJ variable 2 SJ variable]$[SJ
Address correspondence to Timothy J. Suchomel, timothy.suchomel@ variable]21$100) (22), EUR using the equation (CMJ varia-
gmail.com. ble$SJ variable21) (17), and RS using the equation (CMJ
30(2)/547–554 variable 2 SJ variable) (23). Although not discussed in pre-
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research vious research, it is possible that each of these calculations
Ó 2016 National Strength and Conditioning Association was developed in an attempt to provide data to coaches and
Copyright © National Strength and Conditioning Association Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
Comparing Methods of SSC Utilization
sport scientists about the athlete’s use of the SSC in a prac- ongoing athlete performance monitoring program. Four
tical manner. For example, sport coaches may understand methods of assessing SSC utilization, including PSAP,
the PSAP calculation to a greater extent because of it being EUR, RS, and RSImod, were compared to examine the
reported in percentage while sport scientists may understand SSC utilization of 6 different collegiate athletic teams.
the ratio method of EUR. Although PSAP, EUR, and RS
Subjects
compare SJ and CMJ performance, these methods only use
Eighty-six National Collegiate Athletic Association Division
outcome (e.g., JH) and instantaneous (e.g., PP) variables in
I male and female athletes participated in this study. The
their calculations. Furthermore, PSAP, EUR, and RS meas-
male athletes competed in baseball (n = 28; body mass = 87.9
ures fail to include a timing component regarding the dura-
6 9.2 kg; height = 181.9 6 6.3 cm), soccer (n = 21; body
tion of the movement, which may exclude valuable
mass = 79.4 6 9.1 kg; height = 179.9 6 6.9 cm), and tennis
information about how an athlete uses the SSC to achieve
(n = 6; body mass = 74.1 6 10.2 kg; height = 176.2 6 9.7
a specific JH or PP.
cm), while the female athletes competed in volleyball (n = 9;
Reactive strength index–modified (RSImod) is a reliable
body mass = 71.9 6 7.9 kg; 174.0 6 8.4 cm), soccer (n = 12;
measurement of CMJ performance that examines an athlete’s
body mass = 63.0 6 5.0 kg; height = 166.1 6 6.1 cm), and
CMJ-JH and relates it to their time to takeoff (TTT) (i.e.,
tennis (n = 8; body mass = 71.8 6 13.3 kg; height = 168.2 6
[CMJ-JH$CMJ-TTT21]) (7,20). In theory, an athlete who uses
5.6 cm). All athletes were between 18 and 23 years of age.
the SSC effectively should have a short TTT but still maintain
Each athlete was currently in the preseason phase of their
the ability to achieve a high JH (5,6). Thus, RSImod should
training at the time of data collection. All subjects provided
also be considered as an indicator of effective SSC utilization.
written informed consent before participation in this study.
The existing literature suggests that PSAP, EUR, RS, and RSI-
This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional
mod may be used as indicators of an athlete’s ability to use the
Review Board at the East Tennessee State University.
SSC (7,8,12,17,20,21,23). However, no research has compared
RSImod with different methods of assessing SSC utilization Procedures
between sport teams. To determine whether PSAP, EUR, Before participation, each athlete completed a standardized
RS, and RSImod provide the same information regarding warm-up that included 25 jumping jacks, 1 set of 5 mid-thigh
the ability of athletes to effectively use the SSC, further clean pull repetitions with a 20-kg barbell, and 3 sets of 5
research is warranted. Therefore, the first purpose of this study mid-thigh clean pull repetitions with 40 kg for female
was to examine the relationships between PSAP, EUR, RS, athletes and 60 kg for male athletes. Before performing the
and RSImod, while a second purpose was to compare 4 meth- specific warm-up for the SJ, the tester reviewed the jump
ods that assess the lower-body SSC use of athletes. instructions with each subject and demonstrated a SJ. The
subjects were then familiarized to the starting position of the
METHODS SJ by squatting to a knee angle of 908. This was verified by
Experimental Approach to the Problem the tester through the use of a manual goniometer 2–3 times
This study required the subjects to attend 1 testing session to so that the subject became familiar with the starting position
compare different methods of assessing SSC utilization. of each SJ. A specific warm-up was then performed that
Each subject performed 2 SJs and 2 CMJs as part of an consisted of a SJ at 50 and 75% of the athlete’s perceived
PSAP-JH 1.000
PSAP-PP 0.670† 1.000
EUR-JH 1.000† 0.670† 1.000
EUR-PP 0.670† 1.000† 0.670† 1.000
RS-JH 0.871† 0.569† 0.871† 0.569† 1.000
RS-PP 0.650† 0.951† 0.650† 0.951† 0.628† 1.000
RSImod 0.240z 0.192 0.240z 0.192 0.623† 0.282† 1.000
*PSAP-JH = pre-stretch augmentation of jump height; PSAP-PP = pre-stretch augmentation of peak power; EUR-JH = eccentric
utilization ratio for jump height; EUR-PP = eccentric utilization ratio for peak power; RS-JH = reactive strength difference for jump
height; RS-PP = reactive strength difference for peak power; RSImod = reactive strength index–modified.
†Statistically significant at p # 0.01 level.
zStatistically significant at p # 0.05 level.
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Figure 1. Pre-stretch augmentation percentage for JH during CMJ Figure 3. Eccentric utilization ratio for JH during CMJ compared with
compared with SJ. BB = men’s baseball; MS = men’s soccer; MT = men’s SJ. BB = men’s baseball; MS = men’s soccer; MT = men’s tennis; VB =
tennis; VB = women’s volleyball; WS = women’s soccer; WT = women’s women’s volleyball; WS = women’s soccer; WT = women’s tennis; EUR =
tennis; PSAP = pre-stretch augmentation percentage; JH = jump height; eccentric utilization ratio; JH = jump height; CMJ = countermovement
CMJ = countermovement jump; SJ = squat jump. jump; SJ = squat jump.
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Comparing Methods of SSC Utilization
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*SJ-JH = squat jump height; SJ-PP = squat jump peak power; SJ-Rel. PP = squat jump relative peak power; CMJ-JH = countermovement jump height; CMJ-PP = countermovement
CMJ-Rel. PP (W$kg21)
however, a Holm-Bonferroni sequential adjustment was
applied, as 7 separate one-way ANOVAs were performed.
8.0
7.6
7.0
7.3
4.8
4.9
All statistical analyses were completed using SPSS 22 (IBM,
Armonk, NY, USA).
6
6
6
6
6
6
58.0
55.7
49.2
53.7
42.2
38.1
RESULTS
The ICC values for JH, PP, and TTT ranged from 0.89 to 0.99,
while typical error ranged from 3.0 to 8.0% for all measure-
ments. No statistically significant differences in the homoge-
590.7
581.3
606.5
585.9
236.7
440.6 neity of variance existed among teams within the Levene’s
CMJ-PP (W)
JH, PP, and TTT data for each team are displayed in Table 1.
5,061.0
4,374.9
3,796.8
4,084.4
2,655.0
2,636.5
played in Table 2.
6
6
6
6
6
6
DISCUSSION
This study compared 4 different methods of assessing SSC
utilization between 6 different intercollegiate sport teams.
Women’s volleyball (n = 9)
Women’s soccer (n = 12)
Men’s baseball (n = 28)
ers may use the SSC more effectively compared with the
other teams examined. Reactive strength JH and PP values
indicate that men’s soccer players may use the SSC more
Sport team
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Comparing Methods of SSC Utilization
EUR-JH, EUR-PP, RS-JH, RS-PP, and RSImod. The examined in this study. However, it should be noted that the
relationships between PSAP, EUR, and RS measures were women’s tennis team produced the lowest values of SJ-JH
all statistically significant and ranged from strong to nearly and PP as compared with the rest of the teams in this study.
perfect. This should come as no surprise, as the calculations If an individual or team has a poor SJ performance for any
of PSAP, EUR, and RS are very similar and use the exact number of reasons (e.g., lack of strength, inexperience with
same variables. In contrast, most of the relationships the movement, etc.) (3), any moderate CMJ performance
between PSAP, EUR, and RS measures and RSImod were will alter the PSAP or EUR calculation in favor of an
trivial to small. This may provide an indication that PSAP, enhanced ability to use the SSC. From a sport specificity
EUR, and RS measures and RSImod are not necessarily standpoint, tennis players are required to frequently change
providing the same information about the athlete’s use of the directions in a small playing area in order to be successful in
SSC. However, it should be noted that a strong relationship their sport. It is possible that the training stimulus from prac-
existed between RS-JH and RSImod (r = 0.623). The expla- tice and matches contributed to their ability to use the SSC,
nation of this relationship may be due to the inclusion of the albeit in lateral planes of motion. However, it should be
CMJ-JH variable used in each calculation. Future research noted that there is a limited vertical component in tennis
may consider examining the relationship between these 2 matches, which may ultimately contribute to a decreased
measures. vertical SSC performance compared with other sports (21).
A unique finding of this study was that the relationships Using only outcome and instantaneous variables may be
between PSAP-JH and EUR-JH as well as PSAP-PP and viewed as a shortcoming of the PSAP and EUR calculations.
EUR-PP were “perfect” (r = 1.000). Furthermore, the statis- However, it should be noted that sport coaches and strength
tical comparisons between teams using PSAP and EUR and conditioning practitioners may have a greater interest in
measures also yielded identical p values and effect sizes, indi- the use of outcome variables. In any case, sport scientists
cating that PSAP and EUR likely provide the exact same should be aware of the implications of using or not using
information expressed in 2 different forms (i.e., percentage the PSAP or EUR calculations for monitoring and reporting
vs. ratio). Based on these findings, the discussion of PSAP athlete performance measures. These measures, if used,
and EUR below will be grouped together. From a practical should be assessed on an individual basis because of the
standpoint, the use of either PSAP or EUR while monitoring potential issue mentioned above.
athletes should be determined based on the understanding of Previous research has indicated that large differences
the individuals who must explain and interpret the data. For between SJ and CMJ performance may be expected in
example, a strength and conditioning practitioner may subjects who develop force slowly (2). The differences
understand what the percentages of PSAP mean, while sport between SJ and CMJ performance may be assessed using
scientists may understand what the ratios of EUR mean to RS measurement. (23) The greatest RS-JH was produced
a greater extent. Therefore, it is suggested that the use of by men’s soccer, men’s baseball, and women’s volleyball
either PSAP or EUR is consistent with the involved parties and followed in order by women’s tennis, men’s tennis,
so that there is no misinterpretation of the data. and women’s soccer. However, no statistically significant
The results of this study indicated that there were no differences in RS-JH existed between teams in this study. It
statistically significant differences between teams regarding should be noted that practical differences in RS-JH were
PSAP-JH, PSAP-PP, EUR-JH, or EUR-PP. The greatest present between teams as indicated by small-to-moderate
PSAP-JH and EUR-JH were produced by women’s tennis effect sizes (Cohen’s d effect sizes ranged from 0.45 to
and were followed in order by men’s soccer, men’s baseball, 0.78). There were no statistically significant differences in
women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, and men’s tennis RS-PP between teams in this study. The greatest RS-PP
teams. Although no statistically significant differences ex- was produced by men’s soccer and followed in order by
isted between the PSAP-JH or EUR-JH produced by wom- women’s tennis, men’s baseball, women’s volleyball, wom-
en’s tennis and the other teams examined, moderate-to-large en’s soccer, and men’s tennis. Trivial-to-moderate effect sizes
effect sizes (Cohen’s d: 0.84–1.70) were present, indicating were present for RS-PP differences between teams (Cohen’s
that practical significance existed. The greatest PSAP-PP and d effect sizes ranged from 0.13 to 0.67). This is likely due to
EUR-PP were produced by women’s tennis and were fol- the large SDs that were present within each team. It should
lowed in order by men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s be noted that every team included at least 1 athlete who
baseball, women’s soccer, and men’s tennis. Similar to the produced a greater PP value during the SJ as compared with
PSAP-JH and EUR-JH findings, practical significance existed the CMJ. This was a surprising result, as previous research
between women’s tennis and the other examined teams with has indicated that subjects produce greater PP during CMJs
small-to-moderate effect sizes existing with differences in as compared with SJs (3).
PSAP-PP and EUR-PP (Cohen’s d: 0.30–0.81). Based on The results of this study indicated that there were
PSAP-JH, PSAP-PP, EUR-JH, and EUR-PP effect size re- statistical differences in RSImod between the teams exam-
sults of this study, it seems that women’s tennis players ined. The greatest RSImod magnitude was produced by
may use the SSC more effectively than all of the other teams men’s soccer and followed in order by men’s baseball,
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women’s volleyball, men’s tennis, women’s soccer, and effectively. It is recommended that practitioners and coaches
women’s tennis. Specifically, the men’s soccer RSImod mag- should consistently use only one of the aforementioned
nitude was 4.8, 4.8, 29.3, 45.7, and 68.8% greater than that in measures when evaluating their players’ and team’s use of
the men’s baseball, women’s volleyball, men’s tennis, wom- the SSC for the most accurate information regarding
en’s soccer, and women’s tennis teams, respectively. These changes in ability. Because of the incorporation of a timing
findings are similar to those reported by Suchomel et al. (21). component (i.e., TTT), RSImod may provide more informa-
However, the RSImod results are in direct contrast with the tion about how athletes use the SSC as compared with
PSAP and EUR findings that suggested that the women’s PSAP, EUR, and RS. Therefore, it is recommended that
tennis team used the SSC most effectively, which may indi- sport scientists and practitioners could use RSImod to mon-
cate that these measures may not examine the same charac- itor the SSC performance of their athletes. Although mea-
teristics of an athlete. This is supported by the small suring RSImod may require instrumentation, the use of force
relationships that exist between RSImod and PSAP and plates and switch mat devices is becoming more common in
EUR measurements. strength and conditioning, making RSImod a promising ath-
Although PSAP, EUR, RS, and RSImod may be used as lete monitoring variable for the future.
indicators of an athlete’s ability to use the SSC, the present
results indicate that the calculations may not provide the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
same information to the practitioner. This may be because The authors thank the athletes who participated in this study
of how each measurement is calculated. The only variable and made this project possible. The results of this study do
included in the PSAP, EUR, and RS calculations is the out- not constitute endorsement of the product by the authors or
come variable of either JH or PP. Although this may provide the National Strength and Conditioning Association. There
a sport scientist with information regarding the magnitude of are no conflicts of interest. There are no professional relation-
the difference between the SJ and CMJ, it may be questioned ships with companies or manufacturers who will benefit from
whether these calculations are actually measuring the SSC the results of this study for each author.
utilization of the athlete or being influenced by other factors.
The PSAP, EUR, and RS calculations fail to incorporate
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