A COMPARISON OF THE KINETIC AND KINEMATIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PLYOMETRIC DROP-JUMP AND PENDULUM EXERCISES

The aim of this study was to compare the kinetic and kinematic charact eristics of plyometric drop-jump and pendulum exercises. Exercises wer e filmed (100 Hz) front the sagittal view and manually digitized; the data were smoothed and differentiated using cross-validated quintic sp lines. Ground reaction force data were sampled using a Kistler force p latform sampling at 500 Hz. Differences between movement amplitudes an d coordination strategies were assessed using t tests and conjugate cr osscorrelations. Pendulum exercises involved a greater range of motion at the ankle and knee but less motion at the hip joint than drop-jump s. Although different in absolute terms, the exercises used a similar coordination strategy. Drop-jumps resulted in greater peak vertical gr ound reaction forces than the pendulum exercises although the latter i nvolved a greater net impulse. The similarity between the movement pat terns for the two modes of exercise led to the conclusion that pendulu m exercises offer a training stimulus similar to that of drop-jumps.