Optimal Timing for Post-Activation Potentiation in Women Collegiate Volleyball Players.

Kent Adams,Mark DeBeliso,Robert Ah Sue

doi:10.3390/sports4020027

Abstract

Post-activation potentiation (PAP) has been shown to acutely amplify muscular power output and may be advantageous for athletes looking to improve performance. PAP may have an acute window of effectiveness between 2 to 20 min. With correct timing and implementation it may be possible to induce PAP in competitive situations. The purpose of this study was to examine the time frame of potentiation following a PAP warm-up in collegiate female volleyball players. In this study, nine female collegiate volleyball players completed three laboratory sessions over the course of 10 days. During the first session, the athlete’s 5-RM back squat was determined for subsequent use as the conditioning activity to initiate PAP. A repeated measures experimental design was then employed for Sessions 2 and 3 where half of the participants alternately performed either a dynamic or PAP warm-up prior to performing a standing long jump (SLJ) at 2, 6, 10, 14, and 18 min. A mixed-factor repeated measures ANOVA was used to determine the effects of the two warm-up strategies (PAP vs. dynamic) on standing long jump (SLJ) performance across time. There was a significant effect for time (p < 0.01) and warm-up strategy (p < 0.01). Bonferroni post hoc techniques determined that the SLJs that followed the PAP warm-up were significantly greater at 2 (4.8%), 6 (3.6%), and 10 (3.6%) min compared to SLJs post-dynamic warm-up (p < 0.05). However, those differences did not persist at 14 or 18 min (p > 0.05). Further analysis included non-parametric pairwise comparisons (Wilcoxon signed-rank tests) between the SLJ scores at 2, 6, 10, 14, and 18 min (PAP vs. dynamic). The non-parametric results were consistent with the parametric results. Within the parameters of this study, it is concluded that performing a 5-RM back squat induces a measureable PAP effect for up to 10 min.

Highlights

Evidence suggests that muscular power output can be increased by inducing a post-activation potentiation (PAP) effect with heavy resistance exercises (e.g., 5-RM back squat) [1,2,3,4,5,6]
There was a significant effect for time (p < 0.01) and warm-up strategy (p < 0.01)
Bonferroni post hoc techniques determined that the standing long jump (SLJ) that followed the PAP WU were significantly greater at 2, 6, and 10 min when compared to the SLJ scores following the dynamic WU (p < 0.05)

Summary

Introduction

Evidence suggests that muscular power output can be increased by inducing a post-activation potentiation (PAP) effect with heavy resistance exercises (e.g., 5-RM back squat) [1,2,3,4,5,6]. PAP is defined as an increase in muscle performance after a conditioning contraction [7]. PAP is an increase in muscle isometric twitch and low frequency titanic force following a conditioning activity [8]. With the appropriate conditioning activity and correct timing of the subsequent athletic action, it may be possible to induce PAP in competitive situations. When attempting to apply PAP to improve performance in a competitive environment, the interplay between stimulus and fatigue must be considered. A practical challenge in using PAP is to determine the optimal conditions in which stimulus and fatigue can coexist to benefit the athlete’s performance [9]. If the PAP conditioning activity is too great (volume and/or intensity), or if there is not sufficient recovery

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