Comparison of Outcome Measures of High and Low Bar Jump Squats

Running head: HIGH AND LOW BAR JUMP SQUAT TEST
COMPARISON OF OUTCOME MEASURES OF HIGH AND LOW BAR JUMP SQUATS
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HIGH AND LOW BAR JUMP SQUAT TEST 2
Comparison of Outcome Measures of High and Low Bar Jump Squats
1. Introduction
Almost all athletes on strength and conditioning programs usually incorporate squatting
in their exercises (Chokr, 2017). This is a primary compound movement that helps in developing
power, strength and capacity in the body, which are essential in keeping athletes healthy and fit
(Derwin, 2017). This experiment involved testing a low bar (LB) jump squat and a high bar (HB)
jump squat on a force plate. A squat jump is a very power, plyometric exercise for strengthening
the entire body and increasing heart rate for a significant burn of calories. The exercise targets
glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, back and ab muscles, butt, core and legs (Get Healthy U,
(n.d.)). The purpose of the current study, therefore, is to compare different outcome measures
including peak force, peak power, total work and rate of force development, between a power
clean and a weighted jump squat using a force plate.
2. Literature Review
Power clean and squat jump are two types of exercises that are commonly used in strength
and conditioning programs for improving athletes’ performance. The two exercises have similar
lower-limb kinematics are usually used to determine peak power output of athletes during
exercises. Just like squat jump, power clean is a powerful and dynamic plyometric exercise only
that it does not include jumping. Power clean is a single composite move where there is no break
between cleaning and squatting whereas squat jump is an exercise that involves two moves in
one i.e. squatting and jumping (Baum, 2018). The exercise involves an athlete lifting a barbell
from the ground (resting or deadlift position) onto his/her shoulders in one movement. The
athlete’s feet is always a little more than hip distance apart with hands positioned slightly outside
of the shoulder width. When the athlete lifts the barbell, he/she rotates the arms for the palms to

HIGH AND LOW BAR JUMP SQUAT TEST 3
face up and position the barbell by the shoulders while squatting the lower body. Depending on
the hip flexibility of the athlete and the weight of barbell being lifted, the reps can be started
from the ground or the barbell can also be placed at the shins. Some of the benefits of power
clean include: improved patterns and efficiency of movement, improved power and strength, and
improved mental toughness (Bosse, 2018).
There are two types of jump squat: low bar jump squat and high bar jump squat. These two
are among the exercises that have a huge impact on the overall strength and development of
many athletes (Pollack, 2018). High bar jump squat is performed when the bar is positioned
across the top of the shoulder above the trapezius muscles and behind the neck while low bar
jump squat is performed when the bar is positioned below the trapezius muscles (Glassbrook,
Helms, Brown, Duncan, & Storey, 2017).
There are numerous studies that have been conducted to compare different outcome measures
of power clean and jump squats, and other exercises such as push press and vertical jump. These
studies were conducted using trained participants who understood the right technique of
performing the exercises and also inexperienced athletes but they still provided reliable results.
Findings from majority of the studies show that power clean produces greater peak power, work
and rate of force development than jump squat (Comfort & McMahon, 2015); (Comfort, et al.,
2016).
For the potential benefits of power clean and squat jump to be realized, the exercises should
be practiced using the right technique. This means that the athlete should know when and how to
bend, lift the bar, receive the weight, drop under the weight, squat, release the weight and jump.
Therefore it is very important to learn the right technique of executing these exercises so as to

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achieve their expected benefits and also avoid injuries. Figure 1 and 2 below shows the right
techniques of performing jump squat and power clean exercises respectively.
Figure 1: Jump squat technique (Mackenzie, Lavers, & Wallace, 2014)
Figure 2: Power clean technique
3. Method
The test was conducted using both male and female university students. This group had three
participants Kris, Steve and Szilvia (myself). The participants had different familiarity and levels
of exercising techniques for jump squats. The exercises were performed using a squat rack and
barbell. The squat rack was set up in front of the force plate that recorded the required data. The
force plate was connected to the participant using surface electrodes. Before the start of the
exercise, the participants performed a dynamic warm up routine to prepare their muscles for the
exercise. The warm up lasted for about five minutes and it included dynamic stretches, body
weight squats, hip extensions, lunges, jumping jacks, jump rope, leg swings, leg crossovers, frog
walk-in, and hamstring stretch. Warm up is very important because it increases flow of blood
and oxygen in the body, increases movement range, increases power output and agility, improves
reaction time, reduces the risk of injury and increases performance (Elkaim, (n.d.)).