Two-leg squat jumps in water: an effective alternative to dry land jumps.

The current study was designed to quantify and compare the kinetic parameters of two-leg squat jumps carried out on dry land, in water and in water using area devices that increase drag force. Twelve junior female handball players who had been competing at national level for the previous two years volunteered to participate in the study. Intensity of the two-leg squat jump was examined using a force plate (9 253-B11, Kistler Instrument AG, Winterthur, Switzerland) in three different conditions: on dry land, in water and in water using devices. An ANOVA with repeated measurements (condition) was applied to establish differences between the three jumps. The results show that peak impact force and impact force rate for the water jumps was lower than for the dry land jumps (p<0.05), while peak concentric force was higher for the water jumps than the dry land jumps (p<0.05). In addition, no statistically significant differences were found between water jumps for these variables (p>0.05). These results indicate that water provides an ideal environment for carrying out jumps, as the variables associated with the exercise intensity are boosted, while those related to the impact force are reduced and this fact could be less harmful.