Effect of four weeks of Countermovement jump protocol on Shot Put throw distance.

Introduction -

High muscle power output is necessary for throwing competitions like shot put to perform at their best.

Musculoskeletal power can be defined as product of force and velocity. It is thought that a person’s capacity to generate large amounts of muscle power is a reliable indicator of their athletic prowess in throwing competitions. When throwing a ball, one must use three-dimensional kinematics and a range of motions, including forward, backward, vertical, and horizontal displacements.

In throwing competitions, release speed is increased through the use of explosive movements with a focus on high force production rates and event-specific speed training. The force accumulation that occurs throughout the technical throw performance determines the release velocity.

75–90% of the release velocity of the shot put and discus throw is produced after the front leg touches the front of the circle. The power position is the throwing position at the front of the ring. After the thrower lands in the power position, the majority of the force created for release velocity will take place.

This energy is produced during throwing events as kinetic energy, which is produced by the flexibility of muscle fibers. This energy is transferred from the bigger muscle mass in the lower leg to the trunk muscle and then to the relatively smaller muscle mass in the arms and hands during the shot put throwing action. Smaller muscles in the arms and hands receive speed from larger muscles in the trunk and lower limbs. Larger muscle groups produce maximal release velocity because they accelerate through the development of explosive power, which increases hand speed.

Therefore,upper limb power, core strength and lower limb explosive force are crucial for shot put success.

Plyometric training is a popular technique for increasing skeletal muscle power production. The technique consists of a series of repeated bouts, each of which consists of a quick body slowdown, a short transition period, and a quick body acceleration in the opposite direction. This rapid combination of eccentric and concentric muscular activity involves the stretch- -shortening cycle, which provides a physiological advantage in that the muscular force developed during the concentric phase is potentiated by the preceding eccentric action. Countermovement Jump works based on this principle.

Need For Study-

In the throwing events like Shot put, kinetic energy is generated by elasticity from a large muscles mass to  smaller muscle mass. The larger muscle mass of the legs and torso will generate speed into the smaller muscle mass of the arm and hand. The larger Muscles will accelerate, creating greater speed through the hand, resulting in maximum release velocity. This is important for optimum shot put throw performance.

Countermovement jump involve combination of eccentric and concentric muscular activity involves the stretch-shortening cycle, which provides an advantage in that the muscular force developed during the concentric phase is increased by the preceding eccentric action

 While studies have proven the acute effect of countermovement jump on shot put performance, there is scarce literature on retention or variation of this effect  in long term.

Hence it is important to study the effect of countermovement jump as an exercise in longer term on shot put performance.