The influence of active breaks in the long jump on sports performance

Abstract

The aim of the study was to identify the effect of the active pause between trials, on the performance of the long jump. The research was conducted in similar conditions to the competitions. Thirty athletes (18 women and 12 men) volunteer for this research and were divided into two mixed groups with an age range from 13-15 years (Mean: 13.87±0.75 years). We selected one group to maintain an active pause between the trials and instructed the other group to rest between the trials. In order to compare the effect of an active pause with the resting period significant parameters for the long jump were measured for this study, the speed of the run-up and the length of the jump performed, and also the athlete’s Heart Rate (HR) before each trial. The study showed that there were significant correlations between HR and the speed of the run-up in the 5th (p=.018) and 6th (p=.005) trials and also between the HR and the performance of the long jump for the final two trials, whereas for the 5th (p=.044) and 6th (p=.028). Nevertheless, there were no significant correlations between the HR and the velocity of the run-up or the performance of the jump for the first four trials. An active pause between trials can determine an increase in the performance of the long jump and also is maintaining a constant speed index on the run-up.