Evaluating the effectiveness of nordic hamstring exercise for post-activation performance enhancement in sprinting

• Grant number: 25/04665-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physical Education
• Principal Investigator: Leonardo Coelho Rabello de Lima
• Grantee: Thiago Felipe
• Host Institution: Escola de Educação Física e Esporte de Ribeirão Preto (EEFERP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) is a transient increase in the performance of activities requiring high muscular power, occurring after a high-intensity pre-activation (PA) activity. PAPE is utilised by athletes in sports that involve rapid and forceful muscular actions and can be incorporated into contrast training sessions and pre-competition warm-ups. There is practical interest in the notion that activations through maximal and submaximal contractions can momentarily enhance power production in subsequent exercises. However, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the use of predominantly eccentric PA, particularly the Nordic hamstring curl, with the aim of improving sprint performance in trained athletes. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the use of the Nordic hamstring curl as a PA strategy results in PAPE in sprint performance among football athletes. Fifteen healthy male individuals, free of musculoskeletal injuries in the past six months and with football experience, will undergo two intervention sessions-control and experimental-and sprint performance assessments before and after performing either a standard warm-up or a PA with the Nordic hamstring curl, respectively. The sessions will be conducted on the same day, with a 40-minute interval between them, in a randomised order, following a crossover design. Comparisons between sprint performances will be conducted using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Bonferroni post hoc tests when relevant.