Effect of movement goal on countermovement jump performance in athletes across different sports

This study explored the influence of different counter movement jump (CMJ) goals on performance, kinetics, and kinematics between 56 highly-trained and elite track and field (T&F), football, and futsal athletes. Within and between-sport difference were compared when aiming to: (a) "jump as high as possible" (CMJ_h) and (b) "jump as fast as possible" (CMJ_f), using a mixed MANOVA and follow-up univariate mixed ANOVAs. Movement goals had a significant main effect on all variables (p < 0.001). Comparatively, CMJ_f elicited higher mean propulsive power normalized to body mass (MPP_bm, η_p² = 0.794) and reactive strength index modified (RSI_MOD, η_p² = 0.755), alongside lower jump height (η_p² = 0.782), contraction time (ConT, η_p² = 0.857), propulsive displacement (η_p² = 0.751), and countermovement velocity (CM_velocity, η_p² = 0.600). Sport interaction analyses revealed that T&F athletes consistently outperformed the other sports in RSI_MOD across both movement goals (d = 1.105 - 1.598). MPP_bm and ConT differed significantly between T&F and football (d = 0.947 - 1.324). A Movement goal × Sport interaction for CM_velocity indicated that T&F and football athletes increased CM_velocity under CMJ_h (d = 1.242 - 1.635, p < 0.001) compared to CMJ_f, whereas futsal players maintained similar downward motion across goals (p = 0.938). In conclusion, movement goals significantly modify CMJ performance variables in such athletes, and these effects are further influenced by sport specialization. Clear and goal-specific verbal instructions should be standardized in CMJ testing to ensure reliable athlete monitoring and performance evaluation.