Relationship between Body Composition and Jumping Power in University Basketball and Volleyball Players

Introduction: The present study aimed to analyze the relationship between body composition and jump performance in university volleyball and basketball athletes, as well as to determine whether there are significant differences between the two groups throughout the study. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive-correlational and longitudinal study was conducted. The sample consisted of 19 athletes, 68.4% of whom were men, with the remainder being women. Results: The average age was 21.2 ± 2.2 years for women and 19.6 ± 1.7 years for men. Assessments were conducted to determine body composition, jump height, strength, and power for each athlete, both before and after a specified training period. The results indicated that both the men’s and women’s basketball teams experienced an increase in muscle mass (p = 0.09) and a decrease in fat mass (p = 0.79). In contrast, the volleyball teams showed an increase in both muscle mass (p = 0.09) and body fat percentage (p = 0.85). Regarding performance, improvements were observed in strength (p = 0.1), jump height (p = 0.01), and jump power (p = 0.01) across the entire sample. Conclusions: In conclusion, it is stated that there is a significant relationship between muscle mass and jumping performance, with a moderate negative correlation observed between fat mass and performance in this test. Nonetheless, jump height was identified as the most accurate indicator for evaluating sports performance.