Effects of adding a preceding run-up on performance, blood lactate concentration and heart rate during maximal intermittent vertical jumping

Abstract

In this study, we examined the effects of a prior run-up on intermittent maximal vertical jump performance. Seven regionally ranked male volleyball players volunteered to participate in the study. They performed three randomized tests: (1) six repeated intermittent maximal jumps (jump condition), (2) six repeated intermittent run-ups (run-up condition), and (3) six repeated run-ups followed by maximal jumps (run-up plus jump condition). All performances were assessed and blood lactate concentration and heart rate were measured before and after each of the tests. Mean ( ±

) jump performance (64.7 ± 2.3 cm) increased significantly (P  =  0.02) over the course of the jump condition and was significantly higher (P  < 0.001) than for the run-up plus jump condition (58.0 ± 3.2 cm), which tended to decrease with repetition. Blood lactate concentration was significantly higher in the run-up plus jump condition (3.73 ± 0.24 mmol · l⁻¹) than in the jump (2.61 ± 0.26 mmol · l⁻¹, P  =  0.02) and run-up (2.86 ± 0.18 mmol · l⁻¹, P  =  0.03) conditions. The increase in heart rate was significantly higher both in the run-up plus jump condition (33 ± 6 beats · min⁻¹, P = 0.05) and run-up condition (33 ± 4 beats · min⁻¹, P  =  0.02) than in the jump condition (21 ± 3 beats · min⁻¹). The results indicate that the addition of run-ups probably impeded performance in the repetition of vertical jumps.

Keywords:

• Intermittent exercise
• lactate
• vertical jumping