Force Production Measurements During a Supine Medicine Ball Throw: a Reliability and Correlation Study.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the reliability of supine medicine ball throw peak force and rate of force development (RFD) measurements. A secondary aim was to investigate the correlations between these measurements and vertical jump height.

Methods: Twenty young women (21±3 years) reported for experimental testing on two different occasions. Supine medicine ball throw assessments were performed during each testing session to assess peak force, RFDmax, and RFD at specific percentages of peak force (RFD30% and RFD40-80%). Vertical jumps were performed on a jump mat. The jump mat measured vertical jump height based on flight time.

Results: Good intraclass correlation coefficients (≥0.82) and coefficients of variation (≤14.0%) were observed between sessions for peak force, RFDmax, and RFD40-80%, but not for RFD30% (0.55, 27.2%). There were significant correlations between jump height and peak force (r=0.483, P=0.031), RFDmax (r=0.484, P=0.031), and RFD40-80% (r=0.491, P=0.028). There was no significant correlation between jump height and RFD30% (r=0.359, P=0.120).

Conclusions: Our results showed that supine medicine ball throw peak force, RFDmax, and RFD40-80% were reliable measures for assessing upper-body explosive strength in young adults. These measurements were significantly associated with vertical jump height and therefore, may be effective predictors of one's athletic ability.