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The Tuck Jump Assessment (TJA) is a clinician-friendly screening tool that was designed to support practitioners with identification of neuromuscular deficits associated with anterior cruciate ligament injury. This study aimed to evaluate the inter- and intra-rater reliability of the modified scoring (0 to 2) TJA to add an additional range of objectivity for each criterion. A total of 24 elite youth volleyball athletes (12 males and 12 females) were included in this study. Each participant's recorded performance of the TJA was scored independently by two raters across ten criteria using the modified scale. The two raters then scored the same videos one week later. Another investigator who was blind to the identity of the raters analyzed the scores from both raters for each participant. Kappa coefficient (k) and percentage of exact agreement (PEA) for both intra- and inter-rater reliability were analyzed for each item. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to determine intra- and inter-rater reliability of the modified TJA total score. Intra- and inter-rater k was good to excellent for most items (0.65-0.91). Average PEA between the two raters and two sessions ranged from 83.3 to 100% in all scored items. The ICC for the total score was excellent in both inter- and inter-rater correlations (0.94-0.96). This research demonstrated that the modified version of the TJA predominantly shows good to excellent intra- and inter-rater reliability in all analyzed criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of the rating of perceived exertion training load for monitoring changes in several aerobic fitness and neuromuscular performance variables during 9 weeks of soccer training in young professional players. Nineteen male soccer players (20.2 ± 1.9 years) belonging to the same reserve team of a Spanish La Liga Club participated in this study. Countermovement jump (CMJ), CMJ arm swing, single leg CMJ, a sprint running test (i.e., 5 m and 15 m times) and an aerobic fitness running test were performed at the start of the pre-season (Test 1) and 9 weeks later (Test 2). During 9 weeks, after each training session and match, players reported their rating of perceived exertion (RPE) separately for respiratory (RPEres) and leg musculature (RPEmus) effort. The training load (TL) was calculated by multiplying the RPE value by the duration in minutes of each training session or match. Accumulated RPEmus, and associated TL, as well as accumulated training volume were negatively correlated with the changes in most physical fitness attributes after 9 weeks of training (r = -0.51 to -0.64). Present results suggest that a high perception of leg muscular effort associated with training sessions and matches, as well as an excessive accumulation of training volume (time), can impair the improvement in several physical fitness variables believed to be relevant for on-field soccer performance. Therefore, the independent assessment of leg muscular effort to quantify TL can be an interesting additional monitoring measure in soccer training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was compare the effects of a traditional and an instability resistance circuit training program on upper and lower limb strength, power, movement velocity and jumping ability. Thirty-six healthy untrained men were assigned to two experimental groups and a control group. Subjects in the experimental groups performed a resistance circuit training program consisting of traditional exercises (TRT, n = 10) or exercises executed in conditions of instability (using BOSU® and TRX®) (IRT, n = 12). Both programs involved three days per week of training for a total of seven weeks. The following variables were determined before and after training: maximal strength (1RM), average (AV) and peak velocity (PV), average (AP) and peak power (PP), all during bench press (BP) and back squat (BS) exercises, along with squat jump (SJ) height and counter movement jump (CMJ) height. All variables were found to significantly improve (p <0.05) in response to both training programs. Major improvements were observed in SJ height (IRT = 22.1%, TRT = 20.1%), CMJ height (IRT = 17.7%, TRT = 15.2%), 1RM in BS (IRT = 13.03%, TRT = 12.6%), 1RM in BP (IRT = 4.7%, TRT = 4.4%), AP in BS (IRT = 10.5%, TRT = 9.3%), AP in BP (IRT = 2.4%, TRT = 8.1%), PP in BS (IRT=19.42%, TRT = 22.3%), PP in BP (IRT = 7.6%, TRT = 11.5%), AV in BS (IRT = 10.5%, TRT = 9.4%), and PV in BS (IRT = 8.6%, TRT = 4.5%). Despite such improvements no significant differences were detected in the posttraining variables recorded for the two experimental groups. These data indicate that a circuit training program using two instability training devices is as effective in untrained men as a program executed under stable conditions for improving strength (1RM), power, movement velocity and jumping ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]