Protection against muscle damage following fifty drop jumps conferred by ten drop jumps

This study investigated whether 10 drop jumps (DJs) would confer protective effect against muscle damage and soreness in a subsequent bout of 50 DJs. Sixteen men were randomly placed into either a group performing 1 set of 10 DJs followed by 5 sets of 10 DJs (10-50, n = 8) or another group performing 2 bouts of 5 sets of 10 DJs (50-50, n = 8) separated by 2 weeks. The DJs were performed from a box height of 0.6 m, with a 10-second interval between jumps and a 1-minute rest between sets. Jump height, peak vertical ground reaction force, ground contact time, and heart rate during DJs were measured, and blood lactate concentration was assessed before and immediately after DJs. Changes in maximal isometric (ISO) and isokinetic concentric torque (CON), vertical jump, muscle soreness, and plasma creatine kinase activity before, immediately after, and at 1, 24, 48, and 72 hours following exercise were compared between groups for the first and second bouts and between the bouts by a 2-way repeated-measures analysis of variance. Changes in ISO, CON, vertical jump, and muscle soreness were significantly (p < 0.05) smaller for 10 DJs compared with 50 DJs; however, no significant differences in the measures between groups were evident following the second bout. The changes in the measures following 50 DJs in the 10-50 group were significantly (p < 0.05) smaller than those following the first bout of the 50-50 group. These results suggest that 10 DJs and 50 DJs conferred the same magnitude of protective effect against muscle damage by 50 DJs.