Validity and reliability of simple measurement device to assess the velocity of the barbell during squats

The velocity of a barbell can provide important insights on the performance of athletes during strength training. The aim of this work was to assess the validity and reliably of four simple measurement devices that were compared to 3D motion capture measurements during squatting. Nine participants were assessed when performing 2 × 5 traditional squats with a weight of 70% of the 1 repetition maximum and ballistic squats with a weight of 25 kg. Simultaneously, data was recorded from three linear position transducers (T-FORCE, Tendo Power and GymAware), an accelerometer based system (Myotest) and a 3D motion capture system (Vicon) as the Gold Standard. Correlations between the simple measurement devices and 3D motion capture of the mean and the maximal velocity of the barbell, as well as the time to maximal velocity, were calculated. The correlations during traditional squats were significant and very high (r = 0.932, 0.990, p