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During a stretch-shortening cycle (SSC), a muscle is first actively stretched before it actively shortens (Cavanagh and Komi, 1979). Intriguingly, the force, work, and power output during the shortening phase of a SSC is enhanced compared with shortening that is not preceded by active stretch (Cavagna et al., 1965). Since then, the SSC-effect has fascinated researchers and several mechanisms underlying the SSC-effect have been considered. These mechanisms include neuromuscular pre-activation, stretch-reflex contributions, and recoil of elastic energy stored in tendons (van Schenau et al., 1997). Furthermore, it was suggested that following the initial stretch, the force production is enhanced at the sarcomeric level during shortening of SSCs (Cavagna et al., 1968). While this force enhanced mechanism hasn't received much acceptance, it was recently revisited and linked to the plastic history-dependent properties of muscle (Seiberl et al., 2015). Since then, a new series of SSC studies focused on the history-dependent properties of stretch-induced force enhancement provided strong support for their relevance in SSCs. Therefore, the aim of this Research Topic was to reignite a holistic debate on the mechanisms contributing to the SSC-effect (Figure 1), as well as on the relevance of SSCs for movement and training.