A correlation study between one-repetition maximum in clean and maximal jump height in countermovement jump and squat jump in men and women

Background: A fundamental relationship between power and strength exist and is the foundation of power output. Vertical jump and weightlifting have many similarities including movement biomechanics. Both countermovement jump and weightlifting exercises uses stretch shortening cycle. Squat jump generally produce lower jump height then countermovement jump and do not include the stretch shortening cycle. Few studies have investigated if there is a correlation between one-repetition maximum in clean and maximal jump height in countermovement jump and squat jump and investigated if the result is equal in men and women. Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate if there was a correlation between one-repetition maximum in clean and maximal jump height in countermovement jump and squat jump. The secondary purpose was to investigate if the correlation between one-repetition in clean and maximal jump height in countermovement jump and squat jump was equal in men and women. Method: Seventeen healthy subjects (n=17), nine males and eight women (age; 32.6 ± 9.4) completed the study. The study included two sessions, the first session was a one-repetition maximum test in clean and the second session was a vertical jump test including countermovement and squat jump. Both sessions included a dynamic warm up and the one-repetition maximum test also included a specific warm up. Result: The result showed a very strong significant correlation between one-repetition maximum in clean and maximal jump height in countermovement jump (r=0.77, p=0.000) and squat jump (r=0.72, p=0.001) in the combined group of men and women. When separating men and women the result showed no statistically significance moderate to strong correlations between one-repetition maximum in clean and maximal jump height in countermovement jump (men: r=0.45, p=0.229; women: r=0.59, p=0.121) and squat jump (men: r=0.40, p=0.320; women: r=0.46, p=0.209). Conclusion: Findings from this study show that there is a very strong significant correlation between one-repetition maximum in clean and maximal jump height in countermovement and squat jump in the combined group of men and women. When separating men and women the result was in the range of a moderate to strong correlation but not statistically significant. Therefore more research is needed in this area and a larger sample size is recommended to further investigate if the correlation is equal between one-repetition maximum in clean and maximal jump height in countermovement and squat jump in men and women.