STUDY OF PERFORMANCE RELATED STRENGTH TESTS FOR COMPETITION LEVEL SPRINTERS

Abstract

Strength is a performance determining factor in sprinting. This study investigates the significance of a variety of isokinetic tests to control strength requirements for sprinters. Eighteen competition level sprinters &1i0 0 m-time = 10.94 s, = 0.22 s) ran a 40 meter sprint and performed 24 isokinetic strength tests on the PROMETT-system Static, concentric, eccentric and plyometric contractions were executed at velocities between 0 and 300 '1s for knee-extensors, knee flexors and ankle extensors. For each movement the torque at three different joint angles was recorded. As the performance determining factors change in relation to running distance, the correlation between the recorded torques and the running speed is graphically presented in relation to running distance (72 graphs). Per type of contraction the torque with the highest correlation with running speed was selected for further analysis. To interpret these graphs three phases are distinguished in a 40 meter sprint. Phase 1 is the phase of initial acceleration (from 0 to 10 m), phase 2 is the phase of continued acceleration (from 10 to 30 m) and phase 3 is the phase of maximum running speed (30 to 40 m). The common variance in torque and running speed data is quantified by means of the determinationcoefficient. The results indicate that isokinetic strength tests can be used to evaluate sprint related strength requirements at a competition level. 30 to 50 percent of variance in running speed within each of the three phases can be declared by a single isokinetic strength test. It may be concluded that the strength of the knee flexors determines 50 % of the variance within the phase of initial acceleration. Ankle extension torques explain 45 % of the variance in running speed within phase 2, and the strength of the knee extensors determines 33 % of variance in maximum running speed. It is also remarkable that for ankle extension only tests were selected with a high movement velocity (200°/s), while for knee extension tests were selected at lower velocities (65 and 130°/s).