Maximum Strength in Squats Determines Jumping Height in Young Female Volleyball Players

Abstract

Few data exist on the relationship between maximum strength and power performance, such as jumping ability in low-level female volleyball players. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between maximum strength and jumping performance in young female non-elite volleyball players before and after an in-season resistancetraining protocol. A 26-week, in-season resistance-training program was carried out on ten female volleyball players, aged 19 (±2). The 1 RM squat test was used to evaluate the players’ maximum strength in the lower extremities and a vertical jump (VJ) test was used to assess functional performance and power. There was a significant enhancement of 69% (p=0.005) for the squat test and 9% for the VJ test (p=0.008). A strong significant relationship was found between the VJ test and the 1 RM squat test (r=0.68, r²=0.47, p=0.0014) at the pre-test and post-test (r=0.88, r²=0.77, p=0.001). When comparing the coefficients of correlation (r=0.68 and r=0.88) between the squat tests and VJ tests, the difference that was noted was significant (p<0.001). A strong significant relationship was also noted between the 1RM squat and VJ test relative to body weight at pre-test (r=0.89, r²=0.79, p=0.001) and post-test (r=0.95, r²=0.90), p<0.001). This study demonstrates that maximum strength in squats is a major predictive factor for jumping height in young female volleyball players. Female volleyball players might therefore consider focusing on maximum strength training to improve their jumping performance.