Improving sprint speed: Is a jump squat or olympic push press more effective?

Research reviewed: Improving Sprint Performance in Soccer: Effectiveness of Jump Squat and Olympic Push Press Exercises (Loturco, et al; PLOS 2016)

This week’s research paper compared the effectiveness of two exercises - the jump squat (JS) and the olympic push press (OPP) - in improving sprint speed and change of direction performance.

Methods

27 high level under-20 (U20) male soccer players from the same division 1 club were randomly separated into two groups - the jump squat group and the olympic push press group.

Each group undertook 12 sessions consisting of their respective exercise type over the course of 6 weeks of preseason, with these sessions being integrated into their normal training schedule.

Pre- and post-6 weeks of training, each athlete performed a battery of tests that included squat jump (SJ), countermovement jump (CMJ), sprinting speed (5, 10, 20 and 30 m), change of direction (COD) and speed tests.

Results

The jump squat (JS) group had greater improvements than the olympic push press (OPP) group nearly across the board - including with change of direction performance and sprint speeds at 5, 10, 20, and 30m respectively.

Practical takeaways

When the goal is to improve speed, change of direction, and jumping performance, use the jump squat instead of the olympic push press in the training program. It’s not only more effective with greater carryover but also is much easier to learn and integrate into a program.