Loturco, Irineu; Fernandes, Victor; Bishop, Chris; Mercer, Valter P.; Siqueira, Felipe; Nakaya, Katsuhico; Pereira, Lucas A.; Haugen, Thomas

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 37(5):p 1104-1110, May 2023. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004380

PURPOSE:

To assess the changes in sprint, jump, and power parameters across the annual training cycle and tested the longitudinal correlations among these variables in top-level sprinters.

PROCEDURES:

Thirteen sprinters training with 4 different Olympic sprint coaches were sequentially assessed over 14 months, from January 2019 to March 2020, within 4 consecutive training camps.

Tested were:

Standing long jump, squat and countermovement jumps, 10-m and 60-m sprint time, and maximum power output in the half-squat, jump-squat, and hip-thrust exercises.

The competitive results of the sprinters throughout the study period were also recorded and analyzed.

CONCLUSIONS:

Overall, sprinters did not exhibit significant changes in sprint speed, jumping ability, and power output.

Variations in competitive times (i.e., 100 m races) followed a similar pattern, within an average range of ±1.36%, for both male and female sprinters.

Top-level sprinters presented only small variations in physical and competitive performance over time.

Nevertheless, the use of an individual statistical technique (i.e., true changes calculation) revealed that these nonsignificant increases or decreases may represent meaningful changes in their competitive potential.

IN PLAIN ENGLISH:

I firmly believe many old topics, like this one, have been researched to death.