An acute bout of whole-body vibration on skeleton start and 30-m sprint performance

Authors: Bullock, Nicola¹; Martin, David¹; Ross, Angus²; Rosemond, Doug³; Jordan, Matthew⁴; Marino, Frank⁵

Source: European Journal of Sport Science, Volume 9, Number 1, January 2009 , pp. 35-39(5)

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Abstract:

Maximal 30-m upright sprinting and bent over, skeleton push performance were examined in five female national team skeleton athletes before and 10 min after an acute bout of whole-body vibration or no vibration. The whole-body vibration was applied at a frequency of 45 Hz with 4-mm displacement for 3×1-min treatments separated by 1 min. All changes in 30-m sprint and skeleton push times before and after whole-body vibration were small or trivial and within the tests' typical variation (∼3.7% for the skeleton push and ∼3.2% for the upright sprint). Athletes were able to achieve 75-79% of their 30-m upright sprinting velocities when pushing a skeleton sled. These results question the effectiveness of whole-body vibration as an ergogenic aid immediately before performing a maximal upright sprint or skeleton push following a comprehensive warm-up.

Keywords: Acceleration; skeleton; sprint running; warm-up; winter sport

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17461390802579137

Affiliations: 1: Department of Physiology, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, ACT, Australia 2: New Zealand Academy of Sport, Dunedin, New Zealand 3: Department of Biomechanics and Performance, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, ACT, Australia 4: Canadian Sport Centre-Calgary, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada 5: School of Human Movement Studies, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, Australia

Publication date: 2009-01-01