The Impact of Cold-Water Immersion on Power Production in the Vertical Jump and the Benefits of a Dynamic Exercise Warm-Up

• Published in: Journal of strength and conditioning research Vol. 24; no. 12; pp. 3313 - 3317
• Main Authors: Dixon, Patrick G, Kraemer, William J, Volek, Jeff S, Howard, Robert L, Gomez, Ana L, Comstock, Brett A, Dunn-Lewis, Courtenay, Fragala, Maren S, Hooper, David R, Häkkinen, Keijo, Maresh, Carl M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Strength and Conditioning Association 01-12-2010; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Coaches & managers; Cold Temperature; Experiments; Human subjects; Humans; Immersion; Lower Extremity - physiology; Male; Movement - physiology; Muscle Strength - physiology; Muscle Stretching Exercises; Muscular system; Reproducibility of Results; Temperature; Theater; Water; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1064-8011; 1533-4287
• DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f212e2

Dixon, PG, Kraemer, WJ, Volek, JS, Howard, RL, Gomez, AL, Comstock, BA, Dunn-Lewis, C, Fragala, MS, Hooper, DR, Häkkinen, K, and Maresh, CM. The impact of cold-water immersion on power production in the vertical jump and the benefits of a dynamic exercise warm-up. J Strength Cond Res 24(12)3313-3317, 2010-The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a cold treatment and a dynamic warm-up on lower body power in the form of a countermovement vertical jump (CMVJ). Nine physically active men, who were either current or ex-National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 athletes, consented to participate in the study. Using a balanced, randomized presentation and a within-subject design, each subject performed 4 environmental and warm-up protocols (i.e., ambient temperature without warm-up, ambient temperature with warm-up, cold without warm-up, or cold with warm-up). Two sets of 3 maximal effort CMVJs were performed on a force plate at each testing time point. For each protocol, the subjects completed a pretest set of CMVJ (pretreatment [PRE]), were then exposed to 1 of the 2 temperature treatments, completed another set of CMVJ (initial [IT]), then either went through a 15-minute warm-up, or were asked to sit in place. Then a final set of CMVJs was completed (posttreatment [PT]). The primary finding in this study was that warm-up was effective in offsetting the negative effects of cold exposure on CMVJ power. There was a significant main effect for Time (PRE > PT > IT), and there was a significant (p ≤ 0.05) main effect for Trial (AMB = AMBWU > COLDWU > COLD). Because athletic competitions happen in various colder climates, it is important to make sure that a proper warm-up be completed to maximize the athleteʼs power output. The results of this study demonstrate that when athletes are exposed to cold conditions, it is recommended that before practice or play, a dynamic warm-up be employed to optimize performance.