Effects of different footwear on vertical jump and landing parameters

Little is known about the effects of different footwear on anaerobic performance variables. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different footwear on vertical jumping and landing parameters. Ten men and 10 women participated. After a dynamic warm-up, subjects performed a vertical jump (VJ), depth drop (DD), and Bosco test on a force plate in 3 different conditions, on 3 separate days: bare feet (BF), minimalist footwear (MF), and tennis shoes (TS). Bare feet had greater relative peak power (relPP) in the VJ (men: BF, 59.87 ± 5.09 W⋅kg(-1); MF, 58.39 ± 5.69 W·kg(-1); TS, 57.70 ± 6.54 W·kg(-1); women: BF, 45.26 ± 4.10 W·kg(-1); MF, 45.06 ± 3.53 W·kg(-1); TS, 44.77 ± 4.55 W·kg(-1)), while for men, jump height (JH) was also greater in BF and MF (BF, 44.5 ± 4.46 cm; MF, 43.47 ± 5.5 cm; TS, 41.47 ± 14.45 cm). Results of the Bosco test revealed average relPP was greatest in BF compared with MF and TS (men: BF, 19.70 ± 3.01 W·kg(-1); MF, 19.28 ± 3.00 W·kg(-1); TS, 18.93 ± 3.33 W·kg(-1); women: BF, 14.68 ± 1.41 W·kg(-1); MF, 13.97 ± 1.56 W·kg(-1); TS 13.62 ± 1.67 W·kg(-1)), while for JH, BF and MF were greater than TS (men: BF, 28.62 ± 5.0 cm; MF, 27.78 ± 5.09 cm; TS, 26.54 ± 5.1 cm; women: BF, 18.60 ± 1.97 cm; MF, 17.86 ± 6.35 cm; TS, 17.35 ± 2.47 cm). No differences in relative impact force were seen during the DD between conditions. Therefore, athletes and coaches interested in enhancing single and multiple VJs might consider either BF or minimalist shoes.