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The purposes of this study were to investigate the effects of haltere/handheld loading on the kinematics and kinetics of horizontal jumping and to determine if an optimum relative load (% body mass BM) exists to maximize jump distance. A repeated measures analysis of variance with post hoc contrasts was used to determine the effects of haltere loading (no external loading, 6, 8, 12, and 16 kg) on the horizontal jump performance of 16 sportsmen as quantified by an in-ground force plate. The haltere loads of 6 and 8 kg elicited significant (p < 0.05) increases in jump distance (effect size ES = 0.22-0.37). The incremental loads also resulted in significant increases in jump duration (ES = 1.22-1.83), peak vertical ground reaction force (GRF) (ES = 0.20-0.37), and vertical (ES = 0.69-1.22) and horizontal (ES = 0.70-0.88) impulse. There was a significant reduction in jump distance with the 16 kg load (ES = 0.45). Significant decreases in mean horizontal GRF were likewise observed with the 12 and 16 kg loads. The optimum relative load for enhancing jump distance was 9.2 ± 3.4% of BM, which resulted in a predicted augmented horizontal jump of 13.6 ± 7.7 cm (ES = 0.56). The findings clearly indicate that haltere/handheld loading augments vertical and horizontal force and impulses. This could have a number of interesting training implications if the strength profiling of athletes identify horizontal and/or vertical deficits in force production. Further longitudinal investigation is warranted to establish what chronic adaptations result with repeated application of this type of training.
Cronin et al. (Wed,) studied this question.