Effect of Ballistic Potentiation Protocols on Elite Sprint Swimming: Optimizing Performance

• Daniel P. Waddingham ^[1] ; Alison Millyard ^[2] ; Stephen D. Patterson ; Jessica Amie Hill
  1. [1] St. Mary's University

     St. Mary's University

     Canadá

     
  2. [2] University of St Mark and St John

     University of St Mark and St John

     Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Journal of strength and conditioning research: the research journal of the NSCA, ISSN 1064-8011, Vol. 35, Nº. 10, 2021, págs. 2833-2838
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Warming-up before an athletic event is important for performance; however, in some competition scenarios, there is a long wait between completing the warm-up and the event. Thus, potentiation protocols are becoming increasingly popular in a competition environment. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of practical potentiation protocols on 15-m start performance in national level swimmers. Eleven national level swimmers participated in the study. Using a randomized cross-over design, subjects completed a 15-m swimming start following 4 different experimental conditions (swim-specific control, resisted band squat, weighted countermovement jumps, and drop jumps from a 45-cm box), each separated by at least 48 hours. A repeated-measures analysis of variance showed a significant difference in 15-m swimming start performance following different warm-up protocols (F(1.646, 14.810) = 6.968, p = 0.01). A post hoc Bonferroni test indicated that 15-m start time was significantly quicker with the band squat protocol compared with the swim-specific protocol (6.65 +/- 0.43 vs. 6.78 +/- 0.43 seconds, respectively, p = 0.04). The results conclude that practical potentiation protocols are able to enhance 15-m swim start performance when combined with a swim-specific warm-up and supports the use of postactivation potentiation during competitive swimming environments.