Effect of functional isometric squats on vertical jump in trained and untrained men

Functional isometrics (FIs) combine dynamic and isometric muscle actions and may hyperstimulate the nervous system leading to an enhanced postactivation potentiation (PAP) and improved subsequent performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of an FI squat on the countermovement vertical jump (CMVJ) in resistance trained and untrained men. Thirteen trained men (age: 22.8 +/- 3.2 years, mass: 90.0 +/- 16.3 kg, and height: 178.9 +/- 7.1 cm) and 8 untrained men (age: 28.5 +/- 5.9 years, mass: 101.5 +/- 23.0 kg, and height: 177.0 +/- 4.8 cm) participated. On separate days, subjects performed CMVJs after 2 different warm-up conditions. The warm-up conditions consisted of either 5 minutes of low-intensity cycling or 5 minutes of low-intensity cycling plus a 3-second FI squat with 150% of their 1 repetition maximum (1RM). A 2 x 3 repeated-measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc revealed that when comparing the 2 warm-up conditions in the trained subjects, a significant increase (p < 0.05) in CMVJ occurred at 4 minutes (2.4 cm, +5.1%) post-FI squat. This increase was maintained when subjects were retested at 5 minutes post (2.6 cm, + 5.5%). No significant difference in CMVJ was detected in the untrained group (p = 0.49). Results support the addition of an FI squat performed at 150% of 1RM to a low-intensity cycling warm-up to enhance PAP in resistance trained but not in untrained men as measured by CMVJ. Practically, adding functional isometrics to a warm-up scheme may significantly enhance acute, short-term power output in resistance trained men.