Bosco Ergo Jump Protocol
The Bosco Ergo Jump System is a series of jump tests for the assessment of leg muscular mechanics and power, developed by Carmelo Bosco. The Bosco protocol includes the following jumps, though what is called the Bosco Test may in fact be all, a combination and just one of these tests. All the tests involve a variation of the vertical jump test, though technique differences result in measuring different muscle characteristics. Follow the links below for more details about each specific test.
- Squat Jump (SJ) — a vertical jump test starting with the knees flexed at 90 degrees, and hands resting on hips.
- Squat Jump with extra weight (SJ+) — a SJ with an extra load, placed on the shoulders like doing a squat weight lifting exercise.
- CounterMovement Jump (CMJ) — similar to the SJ, but the athlete starts in a standing position, and squats down to the 90 degree leg bend position before immediately jumping up. Hands remain on hips.
- Abalakov Jump (ABK) — traditional vertical jump test with swinging of the arms allowed.
- Drop Jump (DJ) — a jump after a drop of a given height, with hands on hips. The test is performed from 5 standardized drop heights: 20 cm, 40cm, 60 cm, 80 cm and 100 cm.
- Repetitive Jump (RJ) — continuous SJs with a duration of 5 to 60 seconds.
Measurement Systems
Many of these tests can be measured using a standard timing mat or other vertical jump test equipment, though there have been systems developed specifically to measure and calculate results of the Bosco Jump Protocol. Look for ErgoJump, ErgoPower and Muscle-Lab systems.
- Bosco Ergojump System (Byomedic, S.C.P., Barcelona, Spain) measures flight time during the vertical jump. This apparatus consists of a digital timer connected by a cable to two infrared bars. The timer is triggered by the feet of the subject at the moment of release from the platform and stops at the moment of contact coming down. Various calculations are performed on the recorded data.
- See also other Vertical Jump Equipment, such as the just jump mat, Myotest and infrared laser system.
Calculations
The results from the above tests allow the calculation of relevant muscle-strength related indexes (Bosco et al. 1983), such as:
- The elasticity index: elastic energy = ({CMJ - SJ}/CMJ)x100
- The upper limbs coordination index ((ABK - CMJ)/ABK)×100
- Percentage of fast-twitch fibers.
Reference
- Bosco C, Luhtanen P, Komi PV (1983) A simple method for measurement of mechanical power in jumping. European Journal of Applied Physiology 50:273-282.
Related Pages
- Video of a Bosco test being conducted
- About Carmelo Bosco
- Procedure for Vertical Jump Testing using a timing mat.
- About vertical jump techniques
- A discussion about the various vertical jump equipment available
- Apparatus for sale in the vertical jump store
- See the list of anaerobic tests for other fitness tests of leg power.
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