Acute effects of different conditioning activities on running performance of sprinters

Abstract

This study investigated acute effects of different conditioning activities on sprint performance of collegiate sprinters using a randomized, crossover design. Male sprinters (N = 10; 20.1 ± 0.6 years; 174.6 ± 4.4 cm; 66.7 ± 3.5 kg; 100-m race personal best time, 11.46 ± 0.57 s; means ± SDs) performed two 60-m sprints and one of three treatments within the same day, with an interval of 2 days between the treatments. The baseline sprint was followed by one of three different conditioning activities: mini-hurdles, bounding jumps, or a free sprint. Participants then performed the post treatment sprint. In the mini-hurdle drill, the participants ran over 10 × 10 mini-hurdles (height 22 cm) as fast as possible. In the bounding jump drill, the participants performed three 60-m bounding jumps as explosively and far as possible, with 3 min intervals between trials. In the free-sprint conditioning activity, the participants performed a 60-m maximal sprint twice, with a 5 min interval between sprints. Sprint kinematics in the baseline and post treatment sprints were recorded using a high-speed camera (300 Hz). Using these films, sprint time, running velocity, step length, and step frequency were analyzed over 10 m intervals. The results of ANOVAs indicated that the mini-hurdle drill increased the maximal sprint velocity (3.2 %) and maximal step frequency (3.3 %); the other conditioning activities had no such effects.Step length did not change after any of the conditioning activities. These results suggest that conditioning activities with mini-hurdles, which require movements with a high step frequency, acutely enhances velocity during sprinting, possibly as a result of increasing step frequency.

Race Pattern of Women’s 100-m Hurdles: Time Analysis of Olympic Hurdle Performance

“…Therefore, most studies dealing with the technique of the above 100-m hurdles event are focused on the analysis of kinematics (Ryu & Chang, 2011;Iskra & Coh, 2006;Stein, 2000;Wang & Li, 2000;Salo, Grimshaw, & Marar, 1997;Marar & Grimshaw, 1993;McDonald & Dapena, 1991a;Hücklekemkes, 1990) kinetics (McLean, 1994) and energetic characteristics (Ward-Smith, 1997) of the clearance phase. Moreover, There are few studies examining the effects of external conditions on sprint and hurdle performance (Yoshimoto, Takai & Kanehisa, 2016;Hamlin, Hopkins & Hollings, 2015), and a study examining the effects of early sport specialization on the development of a young athlete (Normand, Wolfe & Peak, 2017).…”

Bench press exercise performed as conditioning activity improves shot put performance in untrained subjects

“…During the final phase of the shot put, the implement is vigorously pushed up and forward, in which subjects performed shoulder horizontal adduction and elbow extension 26 . Additionally, PAP is more likely to occur if the conditioning activity is specific to the main exercise 27,28 . Therefore, the bench press exercise appears to be a suitable CA to activate PAP mechanisms and improve shot put performance by increasing implement velocity release.…”

Backward Running: Acute Effects on Sprint Performance in Preadolescent Boys

“…Effective PAPE effects have been reported using different types of conditioning stimulus, such as high resistance loads [6,12,13] or jumping exercises [14]. Although it was previously emphasized that PAPE stimulus is more effective when it is biomechanically similar to the subsequent activity [15], studies using sprints as conditioning stimuli to enhance sprint performance are limited [16,17]. These studies showed that adults did not improve their 60-m sprint speed after 2 × 60 m sprints [16], whereas young male track and field athletes increased their speed in a 100 m sprint after 2 × 20 m resisted sprints, and not after the same sprints as conditioning without resistance [17].…”

“…Although it was previously emphasized that PAPE stimulus is more effective when it is biomechanically similar to the subsequent activity [15], studies using sprints as conditioning stimuli to enhance sprint performance are limited [16,17]. These studies showed that adults did not improve their 60-m sprint speed after 2 × 60 m sprints [16], whereas young male track and field athletes increased their speed in a 100 m sprint after 2 × 20 m resisted sprints, and not after the same sprints as conditioning without resistance [17]. It seems therefore that the properties of the conditioning stimulus might be critical for the outcome of the study.…”