The 6th Congress of Exercise and Sport Sciences

Self-Selecting the Number of Repetitions in Potentiation Protocols Enhances Jumping Performance

author.DisplayName author.DisplayName 2 author.DisplayName 3
1University of the West of Scotland, Glasgow, UK
2University of Suffolk, Ipswich, UK
3Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Background: A growing number of studies investigated protocols designed to optimise post-activation potentiation enhancements (PAPE) effects by manipulating PAPE related variables (Wilson et al., 2013). However, the vast majority of them are commonly designed using predetermined and non-personalized loads and volumes. One viable strategy to individualise the volume in the conditioning activity of PAPE protocols is by allowing participants to choose when to terminate a set. Allowing people to act autonomously by making choices is an evidence based powerful coaching strategy (Halperin et al., 2018). In view of the accumulating evidence, investigating if choicer provision strategy can be implemented in PAPE protocols is a worthwhile endeavour.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate if providing athletes with a choice regarding the number of repetitions to complete in a potentiation protocol would enhance jumping performance compared to protocols in which the number of repetitions is predetermined.

Methods: Fifteen male basketball players completed four testing sessions separated by 72 hours. On the first session, individual optimum power loads (OPL) (Dello Iacono et al., 2016, 2017, 2018) in the barbell jump squat were determined. On the following three sessions, athletes completed three sets of three potentiation protocols using OPL jump squats in a partly-randomized order: i) traditional condition included six repetitions per set; ii) self-selected condition included a choice regarding the number of repetition to complete per set; iii) imposed condition included the same number of repetitions per set as the self-selected condition but imposed on the athletes beforehand. Jumping performance was measured using a force platform before, 30s, 4-min, and 8-min after completing the protocols.

Results: The self-selected condition led to superior jumping performance compared to the two other conditions across all post measures (p0.05; range: 0.3-1.3 cm). Compared to the traditional condition, the imposed condition led to superior jumping performance across all post measures (range: 0.2-0.45 cm) although not statistically significant at post 4 and 8-min.

Discussion and Conclusions: Choice provision concerning how many repetitions to complete in a potentiation protocol is a useful performance enhancing strategy. Improved potentiation-fatigue ratio and motivational factors are sought to explain these effects. Coaches should consider granting athletes with individual choices about the training volumes to be used for PAPE protocols aimed at enhancing vertical jump performance. Choice provision seems to exploit the PAPE effects by increasing the motivational drive, by reducing fatigue and by enhancing the mechanical responses underpinning jumping performance. In view of the performance augmentations observed in this study coupled with the broad supporting research, choice provision coaching strategies should likely be used more often and more explicitly by strength and conditioning coaches.

Antonio Dello Iacono
Antonio Dello Iacono
The Academic College at Wingate, Israel








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