Mechanical Output and Post-exercise Jump Responses to Percentage-Based, Repetitions-in-Reserve, and Velocity-Based Back-Squat Training in Trained Sprinters: A Randomized Crossover Study
Tao Mei1,2,3, Xuefan Zhang1, Liang Li4,5, Xiangang Yang6,
1China Institute of Sport and Health Science, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China 2Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Performance and Skill Assessment, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China 3Key Laboratory for Performance Training and Recovery of the General Administration of Sport of China, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China 4Faculty of Sports Science and Coaching, Sultan Idris Education University, Tanjong Malim, Malaysia 5Public Physical Education Department, Linyi City Vocational College, Linyi, China 6Football College, Hebei Sport University, Shijiazhuang, China
Xiangang Yang ✉ Football College, Hebei Sport University, Shijiazhuang 050041, China Email: yangxiangang@hepec.edu.cn
Received: 10-08-2026 -- Accepted: 30-09-2026 Published (online): 01-12-2026
Narrated in English
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to compare acute mechanical output and immediate post-exercise jump responses among percentage-based training (PBT), repetitions in reserve (RIR), and velocity-based training (VBT) during the back-squat exercise in trained sprinters. Eighteen trained male 100-m sprinters completed all three conditions in randomized order using a within-participant crossover design, with at least 72 h between trials. Each condition began at 80% of one-repetition maximum and comprised of five sets with a maximum of five repetitions per set. Bilateral force plates recorded vertical ground-reaction force during squatting and during pre- and post-exercise countermovement jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) tests. Completed repetitions averaged 25.00, 25.00, and 24.06 per session under PBT, RIR, and VBT, respectively; session volume loads also differed among protocols. No statistically significant overall condition effects were detected for relative peak vertical force (p = 0.348), mean positive vertical impulse (p = 0.262), CMJ jump height (p = 0.969), CMJ modified reactive strength index (p = 0.894), or SJ jump height (p = 0.740). The present study found that VBT resulted in fewer completed repetitions and lower session volume load than PBT and RIR. No significant between-protocol differences were detected in session-level mechanical output or immediate postexercise jump responses.
Key words:
Autoregulation, neuromuscular fatigue, force plate, strength and conditioning, explosive performance, training load
Key Points
No statistically significant overall condition effects were detected for session-level relative peak vertical force or mean positive vertical impulse in these 18 sprinters.
The CMJ and SJ analyses did not detect overall condition effects; smaller differences in immediate jump responses remain possible.
Despite a shared starting intensity and five-set structure, the protocols produced different realized repetition and volume loads.
These results compare complete training protocols and do not establish equivalence or interchangeability among PBT, RIR, and VBT.
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Mechanical Output and Post-exercise Jump Responses to Percentage-Based, Repetitions-in-Reserve, and Velocity-Based Back-Squat Training in Trained Sprinters: A Randomized Crossover Study