(11) LONGITUDINAL CHANGES IN VERTICAL JUMP HEIGHT DURING THE FINAL PEAKING PERIOD PRIOR TO NATIONAL COMPETITION IN FEMALE COLLEGIATE OLYMPIC WEIGHTLIFTERS

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether day-to-day fluctuations occur in countermovement vertical jump height measured via force platforms in female collegiate weightlifters during the peaking period in the final two days prior to a major national competition. Methods: Eight female Olympic weightlifters (age: 20 ± 2 years, body mass: 70.0 ± 8.4 kg) completed three trials of countermovement vertical jumps with arms akimbo using dual force platforms (G3, Hawkin Dynamics, Westbrook, ME) upon waking two days prior to, one day prior to, and the morning of a major national competition. Performance testing was conducted following a self-selected dynamic warmup and a trial repetition at 50% effort. Thirty seconds of rest were allotted between each attempt. Daily peak countermovement vertical jump height was collected and compared across days via one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (α = 0.05). Results: There were no differences in jump heights across the days leading up to competition (p = 0.519). Regardless of day, jump height was 31.0 ± 3.4 cm (mean ± SD). Conclusions: These findings show countermovement vertical jump height, a metric representative of readiness to perform, does not change in the two days leading up to or on the day of a major competition in female collegiate Olympic weightlifters. It is unclear, however, whether changes would have been observed if the period of daily jump assessments was extended to one week prior to competition as accumulated fatigue began to dissipate as part of the tapering and peaking processes. Practical Applications: The present investigation found that countermovement vertical jump heights remained stable during the days leading into competition. Coaches can perform a single assessment a few days out from competition to gain insight into an athlete’s overall performance status and level of fatigue rather than conducting tests on multiple days, including the competition day. Future studies should evaluate the potential pattern of change in countermovement vertical jump height and related metrics across a longer period around competition to better understand how athletes can best peak for competition at an individual level. Acknowledgements: None.