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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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INFLUENCE OF TYPE OF MUSCLE CONTRACTION AND GENDER ON POSTACTIVATION POTENTIATION OF UPPER AND LOWER LIMB EXPLOSIVE PERFORMANCE IN ELITE FENCERS |
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Charilaos Tsolakis, Gregory C. Bogdanis  , Anni Nikolaou and Elias Zacharogiannis
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Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Athens, Greece |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2011) 10, 577 - 583 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The purpose of this study was to evaluate the postactivation potentiation
(PAP) effect of isometric and plyometric contractions on explosive performance
of the upper and the lower limbs in male and female elite athletes. Thirteen
male and ten female international level fencers performed four protocols
of either isometric (3 sets of 3 sec) or plyometric (3 sets of 5 repetitions)
bench and leg press, in a within subject randomized design. Before and immediately
after the PAP treatment and following 4, 8, 12 min, explosive performance
was measured by performing a countermovement jump (CMJ) or a bench press
throw. Statistical analysis revealed significant time effect for peak leg
power during the CMJ (p < 0.001) only for men, with values after the
isometric PAP treatment being lower than baseline at the 8 and 12 min time
points (by 7.5% (CI95% = 3.9-11.2%) and 8.7% (CI95% = 6.0-11.5%, respectively),
while after the plyometric PAP treatment peak leg power remained unchanged.
A significant negative correlation was found between leg strength (as expressed
by 1-RM leg press performance) and the change in peak leg power between
baseline and after 12 min of recovery only in male fencers (r = -0.55, p
< 0.05), suggesting that stronger individuals may show a greater decrease
in peak leg power. Based on the above results we conclude that lower body
power performance in international level fencers may be negatively affected
after isometric contractions and thus they should be advised against using
isometric exercises to induce PAP with the protocol prescribed in the present
study. Furthermore, gender and strength level must be considered in the
practical application of PAP. Key words: Warm- up, vertical jump, bench-press, fatigue, isometric, plyometric. |
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