Effect Of Adding Whole Body Vibration To Preconditioning Exercise On Sprint Performance In Well-trained Cyclists

Abstract

PURPOSE: In cross-country mountain biking the start is important due to the importance of a good position when entering the single track where it is difficult to pass other cyclists. Training methods to acutely enhance sprint performance in the start of a cross-country race may be of great value for the performance. Postactivation potentiation (PAP) exercises with added whole-body vibration (WBV) have been suggested to be a potential way to acutely improve sprint performance. We have recently shown that adding WBV with a vibration frequency of 50 Hz to body-loaded half-squats improves subsequent 40 m sprint performance in soccer players (3). However, not all studies do find a significant effect of adding WBV (1, 2). The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of adding WBV to body-loaded half-squats, performed as preconditioning activity, on a 15-sec all-out cycle sprint in cyclists. METHODS: Eleven well-trained cyclists participated in the study (age: 18±1 years, body mass: 68.5 ± 9.5 kg, body height: 180 ± 6 cm, VO2max: 76 ± 5 ml·kg-1·min-1). All cyclists performed a familiarization session consisting of two 15 s sprints without WBV and two 15 s sprints with WBV prior to the sprints. Thereafter where two separate test sessions performed, wherein each session included a standardized warm-up followed by one of the following preconditioning exercises; 30 s of half-squats without WBV, or 30 s of half-squats with WBV at 50 Hz and a amplitude og 3 mm. A 15 s Wingate sprint was performed one minute after the preconditioning exercise (Lode Excalibur Sport, Lode B. V., Groningen, The Netherlands), with registration of peak and mean power. The test sessions were performed in a randomized order. RESULTS: Performing preconditioning exercise with WBV at 50 Hz resulted in superior peak power output compared to preconditioning exercise without WBV (1413±257 W vs. 1353±213 W, p<0.05). a tendency towards superior mean power output during a 15 s all-out sprint (850±119 W vs. 828±101 W, p<0.10). CONCLUSIONS: The overall finding was that preconditioning exercise performed with WBV at 50 Hz seems to have a positive effect on cycling sprint performance in young well trained cyclists. REFERENCES 1. Bullock et al., JSCR, 2008; 22:1371-74 2. Guggenheimer et al., JSCR, 2009; 23:1135-39 3. Rønnestad & Ellefsen, JSCR, 2011;25:3306-10