Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull Correlates With Strength, Sprint, and Agility Performance in Collegiate Rugby Union Players

Wang, R, Hoffman, JR, Tanigawa, S, Miramonti, AA, La Monica, MB, Beyer, KS, Church, DD, Fukuda, DH, and Stout, JR. Isometric mid-thigh pull correlates with strength, sprint, and agility performance in collegiate rugby union players. J Strength Cond Res 30(11): 3051-3056, 2016-The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationships between isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) force and strength, sprint, and agility performance in collegiate rugby union players. Fifteen members of a champion-level university's club rugby union team (mean ± SD: 20.67 ± 1.23 years, 1.78 ± 0.06 m, and 86.51 ± 14.18 kg) participated in this investigation. One repetition maximum (1RM) squat, IMTP, speed (40 m sprint), and agility (proagility test and T-test) were performed during 3 separate testing sessions. Rate of force development (RFD) and force output at 30, 50, 90, 100, 150, 200, and 250 milliseconds of IMTP, as well as the peak value were determined. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between these measures. Performance in the 1RM squat was significantly correlated to the RFD between 90 and 250 milliseconds from the start of contraction (r's ranging from 0.595 to 0.748), and peak force (r = 0.866, p ≤ 0.05). One repetition maximum squat was also correlated to force outputs between 90 and 250 milliseconds (r's ranging from 0.757 to 0.816, p ≤ 0.05). Sprint time over the first 5 m in the 40 m sprint was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) correlated with peak RFD (r = -0.539) and RFD between 30 and 50 milliseconds (r's = -0.570 and -0.527, respectively). Time for the proagility test was correlated with peak RFD (r = -0.523, p ≤ 0.05) and RFD between 30 and 100 milliseconds (r's ranging from -0.518 to -0.528, p's < 0.05). Results of this investigation indicate that IMTP variables are significantly associated with strength, agility, and sprint performance. Future studies should examine IMTP as a potential tool to monitor athletic performance during the daily training of rugby union players.