Post-activation potentiation (PAP) is the enhancement in muscle force production that occurs following a conditioning activity involving submaximal or maximal muscular contractions. For example, a coach may prescribe a set of heavy back squats done at 90% of an athlete’s maximum followed by explosive jumps with the intent of eliciting greater force production in the jumps than would have been seen otherwise. While PAP has been well documented in controlled laboratory settings, supporting scientific evidence in real-world situations such as the weight room or field of play is more tenuous. Many experts argue that the underlying reason for this lack of evidence is due to the sensitivity of PAP to the loading parameters of the conditioning activity such as its timing, intensity and volume.
As we approach another summer Olympic Games we inevitably reflect on the athletes that are in their final preparation stages, the level they have reached and the level of their international rivals. Many sports discuss which of their top performers will be around for another quadrennial and where the next ones will come from. It is the examination of what current elite performers have done that can offer us some insight into where the next round may come from.
This is one of the first analyses that I have seen examining the functioning of an NSO from a psychological perspective. Even though the research was completed in Great Britain, I certainly think that the findings are relevant and applicable to any Canadian NSO or PSO as well as their ISTs.
The goal of postexercise nutrient intake is to restore the body’s primary fuel source, to repair muscle damage caused during the training session and to build new muscle tissue. When the training or competition schedule of an athlete demands repeated performance over a short period of time, less than 8 hours between sessions or events, the timing of nutrient intake is crucial.
There has long been debate about which aspects of the athlete “medical” should be included in the health assessment of the athlete, Recently, a group was convened by the IOC Medical Commission to critically evaluate the elements of history, physical examination and tests/ investigations that should be done in the setting of the elite athlete. The resulting Consensus Statement reflects the current international standard by which we should be both screening and monitoring our elite athletes.
The discussion around the most effect training methods for improving exercise performance will be one that is always followed closely. The increasing demands on athletes and coaches time and the search for the most efficient and effective use of that time is one driving force behind training methods research.
Authors: Murley, G.S, Landorf, K.B., and Menz, H.B (2010).
Clinical Biomechanics, 25, 728-736.
Commentary by Allan Wrigley
When working with high performance athletes, we need to remember that most of these individuals do not fit within the normal population bell curve. This distribution becomes a problem when developing a treatment plan for them, as the majority of evidence based research for therapy intervention is based on normal individuals using parametric statistics.
Muscle hypertrophy (increase in fiber size) is an important outcome of resistance training. Typical guidelines for developing muscle hypertrophy include repetitions in the range of 5-12 and loads in the range of 70-85% of 1 Repetition Maximum (RM). This type of loading mechanically stresses the muscle fiber and recruits the entire motor unit pool.
Understanding the hormonal response to training has led us to refine the design of a given workout and indeed the structure for the wider training program. While the body responds to a training stimulus with a milieu of different hormones two of the more commonly discussed by athletes, coaches and sport science staff are steroid hormones testosterone and cortisol.
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