The effect of post-activation potentiation in the thrust and swim performance : lower-limbs

• Main Author: Ng, Felicia Sze Jing
• Other Authors: Cabral Dos Santos Barbosa Tiago Manuel
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science::General::Education
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76794
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Background: A main concern for swimming coaches is the design of the best warm-up routine before racing a swim event at any major competition. Swimmers perform their warm-up in a pool more than 30 minutes before their race. The waiting time can nullify the warm-up performed earlier. One feasible solution is eliciting the post-activation potentiation (PAP) while waiting. PAP is a phenomenon by which the force exerted by a muscle is increased due to its previous contraction. Aims & Hypothesis: The main aim of this research is to investigate the effects of PAP on the thrust (i.e. propulsive forces) by lower-limbs and performance in competitive swimming. It is hypothesized that incorporating PAP after the in-water warm-up routine can lead to a greater magnitude in the force output by the lower limbs, and eventually lead to a better swim performance in the pool. Methodology: Two different warm-up routines, (i) swim-specific warm-up (SWU) and; (ii) lower- body PAP (LPAP) which includes countermovement jumps (CMJ) were administered to compare the effects on 25m swim trial. 16 male competitive swimmers (22 ± 4years, 73 ± 7 weight and 177 ± 4 height) participated in this randomized crossover study. All tested variables were expressed in Mean (± 1SD) and 95% confidence interval. Results: PAP was found to increase mean force and mean speed by 26.2% and 8.33% respectively. Conversely, PAP was found to not have a higher kick efficiency which suggested a higher energy expansion. Conclusion: PAP does have a clear beneficial effect in increasing muscular force production following a “conditioning” activity.