The impact of using self-selected recovery time in the responsiveness to post-activation performance enhancement in sedentary and trained men

• Grant number: 21/12019-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: October 23, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physical Education
• Principal Investigator: Leonardo Coelho Rabello de Lima
• Grantee: Andressa Cardoso Portela
• Host Institution: Unidade de Ensino de Campinas. Centro Universitário Salesiano de São Paulo (UNISAL). Liceu Coração de Jesus. Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) is a phenomenon described by increased performance during explosive activities following pre-activation (PA) activities consisting of high-intensity exercise. Factors like training status and the length of the interval between PA and performance assessment are known to modulate responsiveness to PAPE. The optimal interval between PA and explosive actions has been reported to vary among individuals, and a recent study showed that self-selected intervals result in better responsiveness to PAPE compared to a fixed 4-minute interval in resistance trained young males. However, since training status also affects responsiveness to PAPE, the aim of the present study will be to investigate the impacts of training status on the efficacy of using self-selected intervals between PA and performance assessments during the process of inducing PAPE. Healthy young males will be allocated to two groups based on their training history: sedentary (SED) vs resistance trained (RT). Participants of both groups will participate in three distinct experimental sessions in a randomized cross-over design. During one session (fixed-interval [FI]), countermovement jump (CMJ) performance will be assessed 4 minutes prior and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 minutes following a PA activity consisting of five squats with a 5-RM load. Another session (control [CON]) will consist of the same assessments, but the participants will rest seated instead of performing the PA activity. The third experimental session (self-selected interval [SSI]) will consist of assessing CMJ performance 4 minutes prior to the five-squat PA activity, followed by another CMJ performance assessment performed following individual SSI for each participant which will be determined using a validated readiness scale. SSI will be compared between groups using Student's t test for unpaired samples. CMJ performance (height, vertical force and mean power output) will be compared between groups, along time and between experimental sessions using three-way factorial analyses of variance. The level of significance will be set at p < 0.05.(AU)