Abstract
Despite many years of research on the phenomenon of vertical jumps, some questions and problems remain unsettled. Simplified interpretations of physical measures for describing human movement may fail to reflect results, as expected based on the laws of physics. Due to changes in the importance and function of jumping in human life over the years, continued research is necessary to provide more details regarding the processes that occur during this movement, at least with respect to the usefulness of vertical jumps in sports. This chapter explains the basic properties of human skeletal muscles with respect to elasticity. The elasticity phenomenon can be illustrated as an idealised spring with linear characteristics. Stretched elastic elements store potential elastic energy that is released when the spring returns to its original length. The musculotendinous groups in the human body similarly have the ability to accumulate and recover potential elastic energy. For example, performing a countermovement before take-off during a vertical jump leads to the rapid extension of musculotendinous groups before contraction; this action accumulates potential elastic energy and, consequently, impacts jump height.
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Struzik, A. (2019). Introduction. In: Measuring Leg Stiffness During Vertical Jumps . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31794-2_1
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