A comparison of the effects of a hamstring strengthening program to the effects of a quadricep strengthening program: on vertical jump and on quadricep/hamstring ratios.

Abstract

This study focused on the comparison of the effects of a hamstring training program to the effects of a quadricep training program on vertical jump and on the quadricep/hamstring ratio. Fifty-two high school female students were divided into three groups: control group (CG), quadricep training group (QT), and hamstring training group (HT). The CG consisted of 16 female students who were not enrolled in a physical education class; the QT group consisted of 20 female students who were enrolled in a required physical education class, and the HT group consisted of 16 female students who had played volleyball during the 1983 season. The CG received no special training. The upper body strength program was performed three days a week for 13 weeks and was identical for both groups. In addition, the QT group focused on a series of quadricep strength exercises, whereas the HT group did leg curls daily designed to increase hamstring strength. The subjects were pretested and posttested on a standing vertical jump, quadricep strength, and hamstring strength as measured by a strain gauge. The best of three scores was used for statistical purposes. Differences between posttest and pretest measures were used for statistical analysis. A one-way analysis of variance was used to compare the three groups. Omega Squared was calculated to determine any significant difference between groups. A Tukey test was administered to analyze which group was responsible for the significant difference. Results showed that there was no significant difference between subjects who had participated in an HT program and those who had participated in the QT program in regard to vertical jump, quadricep/ hamstring ratio in the right leg, or quadricep/hamstring ratio in the left leg.