Acute performance enhancement in sport

Introduction: Acute performance enhancement can be used in sports performance and during training sessions. Novel methods to acutely increase performance are commonly used in both trained and recreational participants, with varying degrees of efficacy. Traditionally, activities prior to performance were generically described as a warm up and consisted of exercises across a range of intensities, some form of stretching e.g., static or dynamic, plus some technical preparation. Preconditioning activities such as passive heat maintenance, remote ischemic preconditioning and postactivation potentiation (PAP) or post activation performance enhancement (PAPE) can also be used to increase subsequent performance. The latter involves an attempt to acutely enhance the performance of an athlete during each training session or immediately prior to an event and consists of a preconditioning activity.

Aims: (1) To study the reliability of novel resisted sprint equipment. (2) To study the effects of pre-conditioning activities on subsequent acute postactivation performance enhancement (PAPE) with a range of participants.

Methods: A reliability trial of the Run Rocket™ was undertaken to ascertain the ICC and coefficient of variation. Randomised control trials were formulated to look at the effects of pre-conditioning activities on physical performance: resisted sprinting, accentuated eccentric loading and self-myofascial release (foam rolling).

Results: The Run Rocket™ showed a high level of reliability for two resistance levels over short sprint distances with recreationally trained participants (ICC R0 – 0.79 to 0.97, R5 – 0.91 to 0.98). The PAPE effects varied across modalities and outcome measures. There were no significant differences in sprint time, velocity and acceleration for both distances, although some participants exceeded the smallest worthwhile change. Resisted sprinting showed no differences over 5 or 10 m for sprint time, velocity or acceleration. However, there were some individual differences when assessed by the smallest worthwhile difference. Accentuated eccentric loading showed an increase in peak power for both loading conditions compared to the control group. No differences were found for jump height or peak velocity. In the foam rolling study, no differences were found in the performance measures between the groups.

Conclusion: The use of preconditioning activities to evoke a performance enhancement are not supported in this body of work. However, responses to such activities appear to be individualised. From a practitioner perspective, PAPE may be influenced by a range of factors that may need to be manipulated to increase acute athletic performance e.g., strength levels, intensity of preconditioning and rest periods.