Abstract
PurposeGiven the co-existence of post-activation potentiation (PAP) and fatigue within muscle, it is not known whether PAP could influence performance and pacing during distance running by moderating fatigue. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of PAP on pacing, jumping and other physiological measures during a self-paced 30 km trial.MethodsEleven male endurance-trained runners (half-marathon runners) volunteered to participate in this study. Runners participated in a multi-stage 30 km trial. Before the trial started, determination of baseline blood lactate (bLa) and countermovement jump (CMJ) height was performed. The self-paced 30 km trial consisted of 6 × 5 km splits. At the end of each 5 km split (60 s break), data on time to complete the split, CMJ height, Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and blood lactate were collected while heart rate was continuously monitored.ResultsThere was a significant decrease in speed (e.g. positive pacing strategy after the 4th split, p<0.05) with a progressive increase in RPE throughout the trial. Compared with baseline, CMJ height was significantly (p<0.05) greater than baseline and was maintained until the end of the trial with an increase after the 5th split, concomitant with a significant reduction in speed and an increase in RPE. Significant correlations were found between ΔCMJ and ΔSPEED (r = 0.77 to 0.87, p<0.05) at different time points as well as between RPE and speed (r = -0.61 to -0.82, p<0.05).ConclusionOur results indicates that fatigue and potentiation co-exist during long lasting endurance events, and that the observed increase in jump performance towards the end of the trial could be reflecting a greater potentiation potentially perhaps counteracting the effects of fatigue and preventing further reductions in speed.
Highlights
Performance in endurance events is the result of an athlete’s ability to achieve and maintain power output or speed over the course of a competition
There was a significant decrease in speed with a progressive increase in Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) throughout the trial
Significant correlations were found between ΔCMJ and ΔSPEED (r = 0.77 to 0.87, p
Summary
Performance in endurance events is the result of an athlete’s ability to achieve and maintain power output or speed over the course of a competition This is achieved through strategies aimed at managing the rate of fatigue development and the reduction in speed which would be detrimental for performance [1, 2]. The study of factors that integrate both peripheral and central fatigue with pacing strategies should be of interest to better characterize endurance running events. This is important in light of evidence showing that group III/IV muscle afferents are involved in the development of both peripheral and central fatigue [13, 14]. It would be pertinent to consider that pacing could be regulated by mechanisms acting both at central and peripheral levels
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