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Exercise Selection
Published in Michael H. Stone, Timothy J. Suchomel, W. Guy Hornsby, John P. Wagle, Aaron J. Cunanan, Strength and Conditioning in Sports, 2023
Michael H. Stone, Timothy J. Suchomel, W. Guy Hornsby, John P. Wagle, Aaron J. Cunanan
A long-term athlete monitoring program is of utmost importance when it comes to the continued development of an athlete. While athlete monitoring will be covered in more detail within Chapter 10, it should be noted that consistent monitoring of an athlete may help guide a S&C practitioner in terms of what an athlete may need to improve their overall performance. For example, the dynamic strength index (DSI) (also known as dynamic strength deficit) is calculated by comparing the magnitude of the same variable (e.g., peak force) achieved in both a dynamic (e.g., countermovement jump) and isometric (e.g., isometric mid-thigh pull) test (15). In theory, the DSI may be used to determine if an athlete needs to emphasize ballistic training or improving maximal strength. Sheppard and colleagues (77) indicated that if athletes achieve a DSI of <0.60, their training emphasis should be focused on improving ballistic strength. Furthermore, the authors indicated that if athletes achieve a DSI of >0.80, their training emphasis should focus on improving maximal strength. While additional research has shown that the DSI of individuals may change based on the prescribed training (16), it is important to understand that additional context may be needed to understand the athlete’s strengths and weaknesses. Suchomel et al. (94) indicated that despite an athlete’s DSI value, additional testing variables may suggest that an athlete could be at their “optimal” profile and that it may be detrimental to select exercises and training methods solely on a DSI value.
Improvements in Hip Extensor Rate of Torque Development Influence Hip and Knee Extensor Feed-Forward Control
Published in Journal of Motor Behavior, 2021
Kristen M. Stearns-Reider, Rachel K. Straub, Christopher M. Powers
The training program utilized in the current study focused on plyometric type exercises and reactive balance training. It could be argued that the plyometric exercises likely facilitated the observed changes in muscle performance to a greater degree than non-impact training. Gruber et al. observed that the increase in RTD of the plantar flexors from 4-weeks of ballistic training program was 34% higher compared to 4-weeks of non-impact sensiomotor training (Gruber et al., 2007). Plyometric training results in the stretching of the muscle spindle (proprioceptor), which increases afferent nerve firing. In addition, plyometric training increases afferent input (or neuromuscular performance) by increasing muscle response speed (Davies et al., 2015). The faster the rate of stretch, the stronger the neurological signal, and the greater the muscle contraction.