Optimization of Post-activation Potentiation in Girls and Women

Overview

Journal Eur J Appl Physiol

Specialty Physiology

Date 2024 Apr 23

PMID 38652270

Authors

Andrew McKiel

Stacey Woods

McKenna Faragher

Gregory Taylor

Rene Vandenboom

Bareket Falk

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Maximal conditioning contractions (CCs) can lead to the enhancement of evoked-twitch characteristics in human skeletal muscle. This phenomenon is termed post-activation potentiation (PAP). In the knee extensors, PAP is greater in men compared with boys. In adults, the optimal CC duration for PAP is ~ 10 s. We examined child-adult differences in PAP among females and aimed to determine the optimal CC duration in girls and women.

Methods: Eleven girls (9.3 ± 1.4 years) and 13 women (23.4 ± 2.7 years) participated in this study. Maximal isometric evoked twitches were recorded in the knee extensors before and after 4 maximal CCs of different durations (5, 10, 20, and 30 s), in a random order. PAP was calculated as the percent-change in peak torque (Tpeak) and peak rate of torque development (RTDpeak) after each CC.

Results: There was a group-by-duration interaction (p < 0.001), reflecting greater Tpeak PAP in women compared with girls following 5 and 10 s CCs, and lower RTDpeak PAP in women following the 30 s CC. The 5 and 10 s CCs lead to the greatest Tpeak and RTDpeak PAP amongst the women while there were no differences between CC durations in girls.

Conclusion: After both a 5 and 10 s CC, women have greater PAP compared with girls. The optimal CC duration for the knee extensors in women appears to be ~ 5-10 s, while CC durations between 5 and 30 s do not appear to affect levels of PAP in girls.

Citing Articles

Acute responses to a potentiation warm-up protocol on sprint and change of direction in female football players: a randomized controlled study.

Zylberberg T, Martins R, Pettersen S, Afonso J, Matias Vale Baptista I BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2024; 16(1):230.

PMID: 39533363 PMC: 11555932. DOI: 10.1186/s13102-024-01015-z.

The impact of post-activation potentiation on explosive vertical jump after intermittent time: a meta-analysis and systematic review.

Li J, Soh K, Loh S Sci Rep. 2024; 14(1):17213.

PMID: 39060296 PMC: 11282079. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67995-7.

References

Arabatzi F, Patikas D, Zafeiridis A, Giavroudis K, Kannas T, Gourgoulis V . The post-activation potentiation effect on squat jump performance: age and sex effect. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2013; 26(2):187-94. DOI: 10.1123/pes.2013-0052. View

Baudry S, Duchateau J . Postactivation potentiation in human muscle is not related to the type of maximal conditioning contraction. Muscle Nerve. 2004; 30(3):328-36. DOI: 10.1002/mus.20101. View

Bell R, MacDougall J, Billeter R, Howald H . Muscle fiber types and morphometric analysis of skeletal msucle in six-year-old children. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1980; 12(1):28-31. View

Blazevich A, Babault N . Post-activation Potentiation Versus Post-activation Performance Enhancement in Humans: Historical Perspective, Underlying Mechanisms, and Current Issues. Front Physiol. 2019; 10:1359. PMC: 6838751. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01359. View

Bontemps B, Piponnier E, Chalchat E, Blazevich A, Julian V, Bocock O . Children Exhibit a More Comparable Neuromuscular Fatigue Profile to Endurance Athletes Than Untrained Adults. Front Physiol. 2019; 10:119. PMC: 6384268. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00119. View

Dipla K, Tsirini T, Zafeiridis A, Manou V, Dalamitros A, Kellis E . Fatigue resistance during high-intensity intermittent exercise from childhood to adulthood in males and females. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2009; 106(5):645-53. DOI: 10.1007/s00421-009-1058-x. View

Dotan R, Mitchell C, Cohen R, Klentrou P, Gabriel D, Falk B . Child-adult differences in muscle activation--a review. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2012; 24(1):2-21. PMC: 3804466. DOI: 10.1123/pes.24.1.2. View

Esbjornsson M, Dahlstrom M, Gierup J, Jansson E . Muscle fiber size in healthy children and adults in relation to sex and fiber types. Muscle Nerve. 2020; 63(4):586-592. PMC: 8048954. DOI: 10.1002/mus.27151. View

Godin G, Shephard R . A simple method to assess exercise behavior in the community. Can J Appl Sport Sci. 1985; 10(3):141-6. View

10.

Hamada T, Sale D, MacDougall J . Postactivation potentiation in endurance-trained male athletes. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000; 32(2):403-11. DOI: 10.1097/00005768-200002000-00022. View

11.

Hamada T, Sale D, MacDougall J, Tarnopolsky M . Postactivation potentiation, fiber type, and twitch contraction time in human knee extensor muscles. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2000; 88(6):2131-7. DOI: 10.1152/jappl.2000.88.6.2131. View

12.

Hatzikotoulas K, Patikas D, Ratel S, Bassa E, Kotzamanidis C . Central and peripheral fatigability in boys and men during maximal contraction. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014; 46(7):1326-33. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000239. View

13.

Hermens H, Freriks B, Disselhorst-Klug C, Rau G . Development of recommendations for SEMG sensors and sensor placement procedures. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2000; 10(5):361-74. DOI: 10.1016/s1050-6411(00)00027-4. View

14.

Houston M, Grange R . Myosin phosphorylation, twitch potentiation, and fatigue in human skeletal muscle. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 1990; 68(7):908-13. DOI: 10.1139/y90-139. View

15.

Houston M, Lingley M, Stuart D, Grange R . Myosin light chain phosphorylation in intact human muscle. FEBS Lett. 1987; 219(2):469-71. DOI: 10.1016/0014-5793(87)80274-0. View

16.

Lexell J, Sjostrom M, Nordlund A, TAYLOR C . Growth and development of human muscle: a quantitative morphological study of whole vastus lateralis from childhood to adult age. Muscle Nerve. 1992; 15(3):404-9. DOI: 10.1002/mus.880150323. View

17.

Long D, Dotan R, Pitt B, McKinlay B, OBrien T, Tokuno C . The Electromyographic Threshold in Girls and Women. Pediatr Exerc Sci. 2016; 29(1):84-93. DOI: 10.1123/pes.2016-0056. View

18.

McKiel A, Woods S, Gabriel D, Vandenboom R, Falk B . Post-activation potentiation and potentiated motor unit firing patterns in boys and men. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2023; 124(5):1561-1574. DOI: 10.1007/s00421-023-05377-z. View

19.

Miller M, Bedrin N, Callahan D, Previs M, Jennings 2nd M, Ades P . Age-related slowing of myosin actin cross-bridge kinetics is sex specific and predicts decrements in whole skeletal muscle performance in humans. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2013; 115(7):1004-14. PMC: 3798822. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00563.2013. View

20.

Mirwald R, Baxter-Jones A, Bailey D, Beunen G . An assessment of maturity from anthropometric measurements. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002; 34(4):689-94. DOI: 10.1097/00005768-200204000-00020. View