Abstract

Post-activation potentiation (PAP) is a theory that purports that the contractile history of a muscle can increase both peak force and rate of force development during subsequent contractions. PAP can benefit explosive athletes during competition or training by utilizing a conditioning contraction (CC), such as the back squat. Few (if any) studies, however, have examined gender differences in a protocol designed to maximize PAP. PURPOSE: To identify gender-specific recovery periods that maximize PAP during a countermovement jump (CMJ) following a 5RM back squat. METHODS: Twenty-four trained subjects (12M, 12F, 22 right leg dominant, 2 left leg dominant, Age = 21.2 ± 1.4 years, height = 1.70 ± 0.09 m, weight = 72.8 ± 14.2 kg) performed three maximal CMJs followed by a warm up set of 8-10 repetitions and a 5RM back squat CC. After seated recoveries of 5, 10, or 15 min, subjects performed three additional CMJs. Recovery periods were randomized among testing days. Individual 2x2 ANOVAs were conducted to evaluate the effects of gender and time on vertical jump height (VJH) and normalized electromyographical activity (NrmsEMG) of the right and left vastus lateralis (RVL, LVL) and medial gastrocnemii (RGM, LGM). RESULTS: For the entire sample, a significant increase VJH was observed with 5min recovery only (F(1,22) = 22.108, Meandiff = .017, p < .001, ηp2=.501). A significant decrease 10 min post CC was also seen in RVL NrmsEMG (F(1,22) = 6.111, Meandiff = -0.179, p = .022, ηp2=.217). A significant gender x time interaction was observed for RGM NrmsEMG at 10 min (F(1,22) = 10.742, p = .003, ηp2 = .328) with men showing an increase (pre = 2.87 ± 1.78, post = 3.12 ± 2.12) and women showing a decrease (pre = 1.93 ± .99, post = 1.66 ± .88). CONCLUSION: While gender differences were seen for EMG at 10 min, the only performance change was an increase in VJH by both genders after 5 min recovery. Thus, post-activation potentiation may be a viable method of acutely enhancing explosive strength performance in both trained men and women 5 minutes before the subsequent activity, but may cause increased fatigue and decreased muscle activity with extended rest (10+ min), particularly in the dominant leg.

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