Absolute and relative maximum strength measures show differences in their correlations with sprint and jump performances in trained youth soccer players

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Authors

  • Carl Maximilian Wagner
  • Torsten Brauner
  • Konstantin Warneke
  • Tobias Stefer
  • Larissa Kuhn
  • Meike Hoffmeister
  • Klaus Wirth
  • Michael Keiner

Speed strength performances are heavily dependent on maximum strength. However, various strength testing methods determined inconsistent relationships between absolute and relative strength and sprint and jump performances. The aim of the study was to calculate the one tailed correlation coefficients between both the One-Repetition Maximum (1RM) and 1RM in relation to body mass (1RM/BM) in parallel squats and different jump (squat jump and countermovement jump) and sprint performances (5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-m) in youth soccer players (n= 63, 17.9±2.1 years old). Relative strength showed significantly larger correlations with jump performances (r= 0.52 to 0.58) than absolute strength (r= 0.16 to 0.26, z= -1.81 to -1.90, p= 0.029 to 0.035). However, the r values between relative strength measures and sprint performances (r= -0.32 to -0.42) were of non-statistical difference to the correlations of absolute strength measurements with sprint performances (r= -0.19 to -0.3, z= 0.349 to 1.17, p= 0.121 to 0.363). The results of this study support findings in previous literature of enhanced speed strength performances by higher levels of maximal strength in youth soccer players, with faster and more powerful athletes being able to generate larger forces against their own body weight. The data suggests that strength expressed relative to body mass might be considered as a superior predictor of speed strength performance in general.

Original languageEnglish
JournalMontenegrin Journal of Sports Science and Medicine
Volume12
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)3-8
Number of pages6
ISSN1800-8755
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28.04.2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the author(s). License MSA, Podgorica, Montenegro. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY).

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