What Force Plate Testing Actually Tells Us

Written by David Huynh, BS, CSCS.

Most people think force plate testing is about chasing one number. Jump higher. Produce more force. Get a better score.

Motivation to drive competitiveness is great but it's not the most important value.

The real value comes from understanding how an athlete produces, absorbs, and organizes force. That’s where the information actually becomes useful for us to create optimal outcomes.

It’s Not About One Number

One of the biggest misconceptions with force plate testing is thinking one metric tells the whole story.

An athlete can jump high and still struggle changing direction, or produce a lot of force and still have poor landing mechanics.

That’s why we don’t just look at one number. We look at combinations of metrics and how they work together.

We look at things like how quickly force is produced, how efficiently force is absorbed, landing strategy, coordination and timing, and left vs right differences.

The body is a system. One metric without context doesn’t tell us much.

Two Athletes Can Have The Same Jump Height But Completely Different Strategies

This is where force plate testing becomes valuable.

Two athletes may both jump 35 cm. But how they get there can look completely different.

One athlete may produce force very quickly, have great stiffness and reactive qualities, spend very little time on the ground, and absorb force efficiently.

Another athlete may need a deeper countermovement, collapse more into the hips or feet, take longer to produce force, and lose energy during transitions.

Even though both athletes may achieve the same jump height, the movement strategy used to get there can look completely different.

One athlete may need more strength capacity. Another may need better coordination and timing. Another may need to improve force absorption and deceleration abilities.

That’s why testing matters. Not to label athletes. But to guide decisions.

Testing Should Lead To Action

If testing doesn’t change programming, then honestly it’s just expensive data collection.

The goal isn’t to overwhelm athletes with graphs and numbers. The goal is to answer real questions.

Why does this athlete feel slow changing direction but move well in a straight line? Why do they jump well but struggle to land or decelerate? Why does one side consistently take more load than the other?

The data helps us connect what we visually see with what’s happening mechanically. That’s where testing becomes useful.

The Body Will Always Find A Strategy

The body is always trying to solve movement problems.

Sometimes athletes create performance through elasticity and stiffness. Others rely more on compression, positioning, or finding ways to offload areas the body doesn’t fully trust yet.

Force plates help us understand these strategies better. Not perfectly. But better.

Once we understand the strategy, we can start building the qualities the athlete is missing instead of throwing random exercises at the problem.

Higher Numbers Aren’t Always Better

A bigger force number is not automatically better if the athlete can’t organize it efficiently.

More force without coordination can create more stress. More stiffness without control can increase overload. And more output without proper recovery capacity eventually becomes difficult to sustain.

The goal isn’t to create athletes that test well for one day. The goal is to build athletes that can repeatedly tolerate the demands of their sport while continuing to develop physically.

That’s why context matters.

Basketball players, hockey players, football players, younger athletes, and athletes returning from injury all have different demands. Testing should reflect the athlete in front of you.

We Combine Testing With Movement

Force plate testing alone is not enough. You still need movement assessment. You still need to understand the sport. You still need athlete feedback and history. A graph alone doesn’t coach anybody.

When those things start matching up, programming becomes much more precise.

Common Misconceptions About Force Plate Testing

Higher jump height does not automatically mean better athlete. Bigger force numbers do not automatically mean better movement. Symmetry is not always the goal. One test does not tell the full story.

Testing is simply a tool that helps us better understand the athlete and make more informed decisions.

What We Actually Use It For

Force plate testing helps us understand force production and absorption strategies. We use it to monitor readiness, fatigue, and movement tendencies over time. This helps us build more individualized programs, guide exercise selection, and track progress more effectively.

Force plate testing doesn’t replace coaching. It helps us coach with more context.

At the end of the day, training should reflect the demands of the sport. And the intentions behind the training matter more than the exercise itself.

For more information or if you want to book a performance assessment, click here.

About the Author

David Huynh is the founder of M2P Training in Stockholm, specializing in athlete development, movement assessment, force plate testing, and performance training. His approach focuses on helping athletes build performance without sacrificing health by connecting training to the actual demands of sport.