This review discusses previous literature that has examined the influence of muscular strength on various factors associated with athletic performance and the benefits of achieving greater muscular strength. Greater muscular strength is strongly associated with improved force-time characteristics that contribute to an athlete’s overall performance. Much research supports the notion that greater muscular strength can enhance the ability to perform general sport skills such as jumping, sprinting, and change of direction tasks. Further research indicates that stronger athletes produce superior performances during sport specific tasks. Greater muscular strength allows an individual to potentiate earlier and to a greater extent, but also decreases the risk of injury. Sport scientists and practitioners may monitor an individual’s strength characteristics using isometric, dynamic, and reactive strength tests and variables. Relative strength may be classified into strength deficit, strength association, or strength reserve phases. The phase an individual falls into may directly affect their level of performance or training emphasis. Based on the extant literature, it appears that there may be no substitute for greater muscular strength when it comes to improving an individual’s performance across a wide range of both general and sport specific skills while simultaneously reducing their risk of injury when performing these skills. Therefore, sport scientists and practitioners should implement long-term training strategies that promote the greatest muscular strength within the required context of each sport/event. Future research should examine how force-time characteristics, general and specific sport skills, potentiation ability, and injury rates change as individuals transition from certain standards or the suggested phases of strength to another.

The Importance of Muscular Strength in Athletic Performance

Recent technological developments have led to the production of inexpensive, non-invasive, miniature magneto-inertial sensors, ideal for obtaining sport performance measures during training or competition. This systematic review evaluates current evidence and the future potential of their use in sport performance evaluation. Articles published in English (April 2017) were searched in Web-of-Science, Scopus, Pubmed, and Sport-Discus databases. A keyword search of titles, abstracts and keywords which included studies using accelerometers, gyroscopes and/or magnetometers to analyse sport motor-tasks performed by athletes (excluding risk of injury, physical activity, and energy expenditure) resulted in 2040 papers. Papers and reference list screening led to the selection of 286 studies and 23 reviews. Information on sport, motor-tasks, participants, device characteristics, sensor position and fixing, experimental setting and performance indicators was extracted. The selected papers dealt with motor capacity assessment (51 papers), technique analysis (163), activity classification (19), and physical demands assessment (61). Focus was placed mainly on elite and sub-elite athletes (59%) performing their sport in-field during training (62%) and competition (7%). Measuring movement outdoors created opportunities in winter sports (8%), water sports (16%), team sports (25%), and other outdoor activities (27%). Indications on the reliability of sensor-based performance indicators are provided, together with critical considerations and future trends.

Trends Supporting the In-Field Use of Wearable Inertial Sensors for Sport Performance Evaluation: A Systematic Review

An athletic profile should encompass the physiological, biomechanical, anthropometric and performance measures pertinent to the athlete’s sport and discipline. The measurement systems and procedures used to create these profiles are constantly evolving and becoming more precise and practical. This is a review of strength and ballistic assessment methodologies used in sport, a critique of current maximum strength [one-repetition maximum (1RM) and isometric strength] and ballistic performance (bench throw and jump capabilities) assessments for the purpose of informing practitioners and evolving current assessment methodologies. The reliability of the various maximum strength and ballistic assessment methodologies were reported in the form of intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and coefficient of variation (%CV). Mean percent differences $$ \left( {M_{\text{diff}} = \left[ {\frac{{{\mid }X_{{{\text{method}}1}} - X_{{{\text{method}}2}} {\mid }}}{{(X_{{{\text{method}}1}} + X_{{{\text{method}}2}} )}}} \right] \times 100} \right) $$
 and effect size (ES = [X
 method2 − X
 method1] ÷ SDmethod1) calculations were used to assess the magnitude and spread of methodological differences for a given performance measure of the included studies. Studies were grouped and compared according to their respective performance measure and movement pattern. The various measurement systems (e.g. force plates, position transducers, accelerometers, jump mats, optical motion sensors and jump-and-reach apparatuses) and assessment procedures (i.e. warm-up strategies, loading schemes and rest periods) currently used to assess maximum isometric squat and mid-thigh pull strength (ICC > 0.95; CV   0.91; CV   0.82; CV < 6.5 %) were deemed highly reliable. The measurement systems and assessment procedures employed to assess maximum isometric strength [M
 Diff = 2–71 %; effect size (ES) = 0.13–4.37], 1RM strength (M
 Diff = 1–58 %; ES = 0.01–5.43), vertical jump capabilities (M
 Diff = 2–57 %; ES = 0.02–4.67) and bench throw capabilities (M
 Diff = 7–27 %; ES = 0.49–2.77) varied greatly, producing trivial to very large effects on these respective measures. Recreational to highly trained athletes produced maximum isometric squat and mid-thigh pull forces of 1,000–4,000 N; and 1RM bench press, back squat and power clean values of 80–180 kg, 100–260 kg and 70–140 kg, respectively. Mean and peak power production across the various loads (body mass to 60 % 1RM) were between 300 and 1,500 W during the bench throw and between 1,500 and 9,000 W during the vertical jump. The large variations in maximum strength and power can be attributed to the wide range in physical characteristics between different sports and athletic disciplines, training and chronological age as well as the different measurement systems of the included studies. The reliability and validity outcomes suggest that a number of measurement systems and testing procedures can be implemented to accurately assess maximum strength and ballistic performance in recreational and elite athletes, alike. However, the reader needs to be cognisant of the inherent differences between measurement systems, as selection will inevitably affect the outcome measure. The strength and conditioning practitioner should also carefully consider the benefits and limitations of the different measurement systems, testing apparatuses, attachment sites, movement patterns (e.g. direction of movement, contraction type, depth), loading parameters (e.g. no load, single load, absolute load, relative load, incremental loading), warm-up strategies, inter-trial rest periods, dependent variables of interest (i.e. mean, peak and rate dependent variables) and data collection and processing techniques (i.e. sampling frequency, filtering and smoothing options).

A brief review of strength and ballistic assessment methodologies in sport

Twelve female division I collegiate volleyball players were recruited to examine the reliability of several methods for calculating the rate of force development (RFD) during the isometric midthigh clean pull All subjects were familiarized with the isometric midthigh clean pull and participated in regular strength training Two isometric midthigh clean pulls were performed with 2 minutes rest between each trail All measures were performed in a custom isometric testing device that included a step-wise adjustable bar and a force plate for measuring ground reaction forces The RFD during predetermined time zone bands (0-30, 0-50, 0-90, 0-100, 0-150, 0-200, and 0-250 milliseconds) was then calculated by dividing the force at the end of the band by the band's time interval The peak RFD was then calculated with the use of 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 milliseconds sampling windows The average RFD (avgRFD) was calculated by dividing the peak force (PF) by the time to achieve PF All data were analyzed with the use of intraclass correlation alpha (ICCα) and the coefficient of variation (CV) and 90% confidence intervals All predetermined RFD time bands were deemed reliable based on an ICCα >095 and a CV <4% Conversely, the avgRFD failed to meet the reliability standards set for this study Overall, the method used to assess the RFD during an isometric midthigh clean pull impacts the reliability of the measure and predetermined RFD time bands should be used to quantify the RFD

A comparison of methods for determining the rate of force development during isometric midthigh clean pulls.

Rate of force development (RFD) refers to the ability of the neuromuscular system to increase contractile force from a low or resting level when muscle activation is performed as quickly as possible, and it is considered an important muscle strength parameter, especially for athletes in sports requiring high-speed actions. The assessment of RFD has been used for strength diagnosis, to monitor the effects of training interventions in both healthy populations and patients, discriminate high-level athletes from those of lower levels, evaluate the impairment in mechanical muscle function after acute bouts of eccentric muscle actions and estimate the degree of fatigue and recovery after acute exhausting exercise. Notably, the evaluation of RFD in human skeletal muscle is a complex task as influenced by numerous distinct methodological factors including mode of contraction, type of instruction, method used to quantify RFD, devices used for force/torque recording and ambient temperature. Another important aspect is our limited understanding of the mechanisms underpinning rapid muscle force production. Therefore, this review is primarily focused on (i) describing the main mechanical characteristics of RFD; (ii) analysing various physiological factors that influence RFD; and (iii) presenting and discussing central biomechanical and methodological factors affecting the measurement of RFD. The intention of this review is to provide more methodological and analytical coherency on the RFD concept, which may aid to clarify the thinking of coaches and sports scientists in this area.

Physiological and methodological aspects of rate of force development assessment in human skeletal muscle.

Aim The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between weightlifting performance (snatch, clean and jerk, and total) and variables obtained from the isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP). Methods Twelve weightlifters, ranging from novice to advanced, performed the IMTP 10 days after a competition. Correlations were used to evaluate relationships between variables of the IMTP and absolute and scaled competition results. Results Unscaled competition results correlated strongly with IRFD (0-200ms: r=0.567-0.645, 0-250ms: r=0.722-0.781) while results correlated weakly with Peak IRFD (5ms window, r=0.360-0.426). Absolute peak force values correlated very strongly with absolute values for the competition performance (r=0.830-0.838). Force at 100ms, 150ms, 200ms and 250ms also correlated strongly with competition results (r=0.643-0.647, r=0.605-0.636, r=0.714-0.732, r=0.801-0.804). Similar findings were noted for allometrically scaled values. Conclusion Measures of average IRFD probably represent a more relevant variable to dynamic performance than does Peak IRFD (5ms). Maximum isometric strength also is likely to have a strong role in weightlifting performance.

Relationships of Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull Variables to Weightlifting Performance

INTRODUCTION: Changes in jumping kinetics and kinematics from various loads and levels of fatigue have been noted in previous research (Cormie, McBride and McCaulley, 2008, Kraska, et al., 2009, Peng, 2011, Pupo et al., 2013). Specifically concerning fatigue, reductions in jump height, power output and vertical stiffness have been demonstrated along with increases in contact time and time to takeoff (Pupo et al., 2013). Fatigue has also been shown to decrease knee joint stability in females, possibly predisposing them to injury (Ortiz et al., 2010). Previous research has also examined the kinetic changes associated with adding load(s) to the squat jump and found that statistically lower values in rate of power development and peak power occur when loads of 40 kg or greater were applied (Cormie, McBride and McCaulley, 2008). The previously mentioned authors suggest that kinematic changes also occur, but these were not evaluated in trained athletes. Kraska and colleagues (2009) found decrements in collegiate athletes’ jump height with adding a 20 kg load, but other kinematic variables were not evaluated and simulating fatigue was not the focus of the study. To the knowledge of the authors, it is not known if a 20 kg load is sufficient to elicit performance alterations in kinematic variables and simulate a fatigued situation in athletes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if a light load (20 kg) would alter the jumping performance of athletes in a similar manner to the alterations observed during fatigued situations in previous investigations.

Is a 20 Kg Load Sufficient to Simulate Fatigue in Squat Jumps

Weightlifting technique is a well-studied subject with regard to standard biomechanical analysis that includes barbell velocity as well as barbell trajectory, but kinematic data such as barbell acceleration have not often been reported. Real-time or near-real-time feedback can be more helpful to coaches and athletes than delayed feedback. The purpose of this study was to validate measures obtained by a commercially available accelerometer in comparison with kinematic data derived from video. The hypothesis was that there would be a high positive relationship between accelerometer data and acceleration measures derived from video records of a barbell high-pull movement. Accelerometer values and kinematic data from high-speed video were obtained from 7 volunteers performing 2 trials each of a barbell high-pull. The results showed that the accelerometer measures were highly correlated with derived acceleration data from video (r = 0.94-0.99). On the basis of these results, the device was considered to be validated; thus, the unit may be a useful tool to measure acceleration during real-time training sessions rather than only reserved for collecting data in a laboratory setting. This device can be a valuable tool to provide instant feedback to coaches and athletes to assess individual barbell acceleration performance.

Validation of an accelerometer for measuring sport performance

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Relationships of Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull Variables to Weightlifting Performance

Is a 20 Kg Load Sufficient to Simulate Fatigue in Squat Jumps

Validation of an accelerometer for measuring sport performance