PURPOSE: To examine the influence of three distinct training phases on isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) measures in well-trained weightlifters. METHODS: Pre- and post-block IMTP data from 11 collegiate weightlifters was used for analysis. The mean of the best two attempts from each athlete for measures of PF and RFD from 0-50ms, 0-100ms, 0-150ms, 0-200ms, and 0-250ms were used for comparison. In total, results from five timepoints for each of the 11 athletes were examined in order to compare the effects of the three training phases. RESULTS: A repeated measures ANOVA revealed no statistically significant (p ≥ 0.05) effects of training on any of the variables measured. When comparing post block values from each phase to pre-training cycle values, the largest increase in RFD200 (d = 0.22) and RFD250 (d=0.22) occurred post strength-power (SP) phase, while the peak in RFD50 (d = 0.32), RFD100 (d = 0.31), and RFD150 (d = 0.22) occurred after the peak/taper (PT) phase. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of the study, it is possible that changes in IMTP RFD may reflect the expected adaptations of block periodization. Rather than examining RFD changes at only one time-band, it may be valuable to monitor RFD across multiple time bands as changes in early and late RFD may not occur proportionally during a peak/taper phase
