ORIGINAL ARTICLE  EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOMECHANICS 

The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness 2020 April;60(4):501-9

DOI: 10.23736/S0022-4707.19.10274-5

Copyright © 2019 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Does the inclusion of ballistic exercises during warm-up enhance short distance running performance?

Maria H. GIL ^{1, 2}, Henrique P. NEIVA ^{1, 2}, Ana R. ALVES ^{2, 3}, António C. SOUSA ^{1, 2}, Pedro DUARTE-MENDES ^{4, 5}, Mário C. MARQUES ^{1, 2}, Daniel A. MARINHO ^{1, 2} ✉

¹ Department of Sport Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal; ² Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), Covilhã, Portugal; ³ Department of Arts, Humanities and Sports, Polytechnic Institute of Beja, Beja, Portugal; ⁴ Department of Sport and Well-Being, Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal; ⁵ SHERU - Sport, Health and Exercise Research Unit, Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco, Portugal

BACKGROUND: Warm-up is considered essential to optimize running performance, but little is known about the effect of specific warm-up tasks, specifically in the real competitive context. The current study aimed to verify the acute effects of a warm-up including ballistic exercises in 30m running performance. In addition, a second 30m trial was assessed to better understand the warm-up effects in training/competition.
METHODS: Twenty-two men (19.32±1.43 years-old) randomly completed the time-trials on separate days and after a typical warm-up (WU), a WU complemented with ballistic exercises (postactivation potentiation [PAP]) or no warm-up (NWU). Biomechanical, physiological and psychophysiological variables were assessed.
RESULTS: The participants were 1.9% faster in the first 30m sprint after WU compared with NWU, mainly increased performance in the first 15m (P=0.03, ES=0.48). WU resulted in greater stride length in the last 15m of the first sprint. PAP did not differ from NWU and WU, despite eight participants performed better after this warm-up.
CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the positive effects of warm-up for sprinting, despite failed to evidence positive effects when ballistic exercises are included. In addition, the influence of warm-up in the running technique was highlighted by the changes in the running kinematics and a need for individualization of warm-up procedures.

KEY WORDS: Warm-up exercise; Athletic performance; Physiology