ORIGINAL PAPER
The effects of a postactivation potentiation warm-up on subsequent sprint performance
 
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1
Health Promotion and Human Performance, Weber State University, Ogden, USA
 
2
Exercise and Sport Science, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA
 
3
Health and Physical Education, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, USA
 
 
Online publication date: 2018-04-19
 
 
Hum Mov. 2014;15(1):36-44
 
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ABSTRACT
Purpose:
Many strength and conditioning professionals propose that postactivation potentiation (PAP) warm-ups enhance power performance although there are few studies conducted in this regard on sprinting. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a PAP warm-up on sprint performance.

Methods:
Twenty-four men and women completed a 40-yard (yd) sprint pretest on four nonconsecutive days followed by a PAP warm-up that included a sled resistance sprint at either 0%, 10%, 20%, or 30% of their body mass and concluded with a 40-yd dash posttest. Each resistance sprint was recorded for kinematic analysis.

Results:
A 2 × 2 × 4 factorial mixed ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference between sexes in 40-yd dash times (p < 0.001). A significant main effect was found in pre- and post-40-yd dash measures regardless of sex (p < 0.001). The results indicated no significant differences in the post-40-yd dash times between sled loads and the load by time interaction. The participants’ 40-yd dash times improved 1.2% on average after the 10% load. Improvements in dash time for the 0%, 20%, and 30% loads were greater than 2%. Sprint kinematics analysis demonstrated statistically significant differences between lighter and heavier loads.

Conclusions:
Regardless of the significant disruptions in sprint mechanics, there appears to be a potential for heavier sled resistances to affect acute improvements in 40-yd sprint performance. However, it is unclear whether heavier sleds loads may provide greater benefit than warming up with 0% resistance.

ISSN:1899-1955
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