Abstract
Considering the effectiveness of resisted sprint training, and the acute enhancement of sprinting performance through locomotor post-activation performance enhancement, the main objective of the research was to determine the acute effects of resisted activation with loads of 5, 10, and 15% body mass on sprint and flying start sprint performance in elite female sprinters using resisted drag technology system. Ten elite female sprinters (age: 23.2 ± 5.4 years, body mass: 54.2 ± 6.1 kg, height: 167.4 ± 7.3 cm, personal best for 100 m: 12.05 ± 0.56 s, and for 400 m: 53.17 ± 2.76 s) performed two unresisted 20-m sprints (from a crouched and flying start) before and after a single resisted sprint loaded with 5, 10, or 15% body mass to verify the effectiveness of the activation stimulus. Compared with pre-activation, Friedman tests showed that peak velocity increased by 1.6 ± 2.2% [effect size (ES) = 0.66], 2.3 ± 1.5% (ES = 1.33), and 0.2 ± 1% (ES = 0.09), as well as peak force by 2.8 ± 2.1% (ES = 0.49), 3.5 ± 2.3% (ES = 1), and 0.5 ± 2.4% (ES = 0.14), concomitant with a significant decreased in sprint time by −0.5 ± 1.2% (ES = −0.07), −2.5 ± 1.3% (ES = −0.64), and −1 ± 1.4% (ES = −0.36) for the 5, 10, and 15% body mass post-activation, respectively (p < 0.001; for all). Furthermore, the ANOVA showed that peak power increased by 2.9 ± 2.3% (ES = 0.61), 3.8 ± 2.2% (ES = 1.05), and 2 ± 7.1% (ES = 0.22) for the 5, 10, and 15% body mass resisted-conditioning activity, respectively, with no difference between the three conditions (p = 0.003 main effect time, no interaction). Moreover, compared with the 5 and 15% body mass trials [−1.5 ± 2% (ES = −0.44), −0.8 ± 0.8% (ES = −0.44), respectively], the ANOVA showed that flying start sprint time significantly decreased by −4.3 ± 1.1% (ES = −1.25) (p < 0.001, interaction effect) after a 10% body mass resisted-conditioning activity. The results of this study indicated that resisted sprints acutely enhance sprint performance; however, their effectiveness depends on the applied load. A single resisted sprint using 10% body mass is effective at inducing a potentiating effect on subsequent 20-m flying start sprint performance in elite female sprinters. Therefore, keeping in mind the optimal load, it is recommended to perform resisted sprints as a conditioning activation when seeking to acutely enhance 20-m flying start sprint performance in these athletes.
Highlights
Sprinting as a key motor ability in numerous sport disciplines has been studied extensively from many different perspectives
All of the athletes who participated in the study met the following criteria of inclusion: they had been national team members for at least 2 years; they had competed at national and international levels in the last year; they had a previous experience with resisted sprint training; and they were free from any medical problems
Pairwise comparisons demonstrated a decrease of sprint time and increase in peak velocity values after the 10% body mass resisted-conditioning activity when compared with pre-conditioning activity values (p = 0.006 and p = 0.035, respectively) (Table 1)
Summary
Sprinting as a key motor ability in numerous sport disciplines has been studied extensively from many different perspectives. A wide range of training interventions are used, and one of them is resistance exercise, which has been shown to be effective in both acute and chronic improvement of sprint performance (Seitz et al, 2014b; Bolger et al, 2015; Haugen et al, 2019). Resistance exercises directed at improving sprinting speed include locomotor activities and fixed plane resistance exercises, such as jump squats and different variations of the clean and jerk and the snatch (Harris et al, 2008; Bolger et al, 2015). The locomotor form of resistance sprint training includes towing a weighted sled, tire, or runs with a parachute, or some other devices that offer resistance (Upton, 2011). Resisted sprint training may involve towing a sled, which provides an overload through the friction between the sled and ground surface, or a modern advanced training device, which uses drag technology to provide fully controlled resistance during the movement, such as the 1,080 Sprint (Cross et al, 2018; Mangine et al, 2018; Gepfert et al, 2020)
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