ORIGINAL ARTICLES  EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOMECHANICS 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2012 February;52(1):11-7

Copyright © 2012 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Association of anthropometric qualities with vertical jump performance in elite male volleyball players

Aouadi R. ^{1, 2}, Jlid M. C. ^{1, 2}, Khalifa R. ^{1, 2}, Hermassi S. ^{1, 2}, Chelly M. S. ^{1, 2}, Van Den Tillaar R. ^{3, 4}, Gabbett T. ⁵ ✉

¹ Research Unit of Evaluation and Analysis of Factors Influencing Sport Performance, Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Saïd, Tunis, Tunisia; ² Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar Saïd, University of La Manouba, Tunis, Tunisia; ³ Faculty of Teacher Education and Sport, Sogn og Fjordane University College, Norway; ⁴ Research Centre for Sport, Health and Human Development, Villa Real, Portugal; ⁵ School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia

AIM. The objective of this study was to examine the association between physical and anthropometric profiles and vertical jump performance in elite volleyball players.
METHODS: Thirty-three elite male volleyball players (21±1 y, 76.9±5.2 kg, 186.5±5 cm) were studied. Several anthropometric measurements (body mass, stature, body mass index, lower limb length and sitting height) together with jumping height anaerobic power of counter movement jump with arm swing (CMJarm) were obtained from all subjects. Forward stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed to determine if any of the anthropometric parameters were predictive of CMJarm.
RESULTS: Anaerobic power was significantly higher (P≤0.05) in the tallest players relative to their shorter counterparts. A significant relationship was observed between CMJarm and lower limb length (r2=0.69; P<0.001) and between the lower limb length and anaerobic power obtained with CMJarm (r2=0.57; P<0.01). While significantly correlated (P≤0.05) with CMJarm performance, stature, lower limb length/stature and sitting height/stature ratios were not significant (P>0.05) predictors of CMJarm performance.
CONCLUSION:This study demonstrates that lower limb length is correlated with CMJarm in elite male volleyball players. The players with longer lower limbs have the better vertical jump performances and their anaerobic power is higher. These results could be of importance for trained athletes in sports relying on jumping performance, such as basketball, handball or volleyball. Thus, the measurement of anthropometric characteristics, such as stature and lower limb length may assist coaches in the early phases of talent identification in volleyball.