Comparison of two vertical jump evaluation tests in young athletes: vertical impulse and laser sensor instrument test

Vertical jumping is fundamental in many sports, as it can influence athlete performance. It is also considered an indirect method to evaluate lower limb muscle power in sports or in physically active subjects. The aim of this study was to compare two methods of vertical jump evaluation, the vertical impulse test and jump with laser sensor instrument. In total, 23 track and field athletes were evaluated, aged 14 to 16 years, members of a training program of a sport project based in Piracicaba SP. The subjects were submitted to two different vertical jump evaluation procedures, vertical impulse test and jump with laser sensor instrument, both without counter movement and without upper limb swing. Descriptive data analysis was performed. To verify the normality of the population, the Shapiro-Wilk test was applied, and when normality was confirmed, the Student's t-test was applied, and Pearson's correlation to analyze the correlation between the methods. The vertical impulse test presented mean values of 36.84 ± 6.49 and the jump with the laser sensor instrument 31 ± 5.66. The mean difference between the methods was 5.84 cm. The correlation between the methods was positive and high, r = 0.80, indicating regularity in the performance between the methods. It was concluded that when compared, the vertical impulse test presents higher values than the laser sensor instrument; however, both methods were demonstrated to be viable to evaluate vertical jump performance, provided that the chosen test is standardized.