The SSC refers to the common occurrence of a "pre-stretch" or "countermovement" loading in typical human movements, such as jumping. This pre-stretching action enables athletes to generate greater force and move faster in these common movements.
So how do you know if your athlete is recruiting this effectively?
One answer may be the use of an Eccentric Utilisation Ratio (EUR). This ratio looks at the relationship between the jump height of commonly performed athletic assessments the Counter Movement Jump (CMJ) and Squat Jump (SJ).
By performing both of these tests on your AxIT Stomp-IT Force Plates, AxIT's software will automatically do this calculation for you.
Depending on the results and relationship between these outputs it may suggest the athlete has a bias toward concentric strength of the leg extensors with a lower ratio number or may suggest a reactive strength bias in those who achieve a higher ratio number.
A ratio of 1.07-1.11 has been seen across different research in different athletic populations (McGuigan et al 2006, Albano 2019) which may help guide programming for everyday health and fitness professionals when working with their clients.