# Effects of Post-Activation Performance Enhancement on Jump Performance in Elite Volleyball Players
###### Abstract  
Post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) is a widely described phenomenon, but the majority of studies tend to evaluate the response of various parameters of a conditioning activity (CA) on the same explosive exercise. The aim of this study was to evaluate the PAPE response of the same CA--trap bar deadlift with an accommodating resistance--on jump height in two different jumping tests: squat jump (S) and countermovement jump (CMJ). Study participants included twelve elite volleyball players (age 23 + 2 years; body height, 194.7 \(\pm\) 5.9 cm; body mass, 89.8 \(\pm\) 7.9 kg; body fat, 14.7 \(\pm\) 3.7%) experienced in resistance training (relative 1 RM of a trap bar deadlift with accommodating resistance 1.92 \(\pm\) 0.12 kg/body mass). Each participant performed tests under four conditions: two conditions for both SJ and CMJ--experimental with CA and control without CA. Jumps were performed at the baseline and 90 s after CA. The protocol did not increase jump power significantly in either SJ or CMJ. However, individual analysis showed that more participants responded positively to the CA in SJ (73%) than CMJ (50%), implying that PAPE response may depend on the similarity of the muscle-type contraction between CA and an explosive exercise. potentiation; accommodating resistance; trap bar deadlift; power; PAP; PAPE +
Footnote †: journal: Applied Sciences  
form of accommodating resistance are two training modalities commonly used by strength training specialists. Using a combination of accommodating and free weight resistance has been shown to improve maximal strength and power to a greater extent than using only free weight resistance [7; 8]. Using elastic bands can challenge athletes to accelerate through a given range of motion [9] and can result in improvements in the rate of force development [10; 11], which is related to increased jumping performance [12]. The use of accommodating resistance has been suggested to induce PAPE as strongly as using only free weight resistance and simultaneously allowing for a reduction in the rest interval between CA and explosive exercise [13]. Accommodating resistance has been used in numerous studies to optimize PAPE, with results consistently showing that accommodating resistance is an effective method to induce PAPE [14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20] that can be achieved with a relatively short rest period (1.5-2 min) between CA and subsequent explosive tasks [14; 15; 17; 20]. In some cases, using accommodating resistance was found to be superior to free weight resistance, which did not induce PAPE in either male [16; 18] or female [20] participants in previous studies. In most studies, authors tend to use back squat as CA, and an increasing number of studies involve trap bar deadlift as CA [21; 22; 23; 24]. Results are not consistent, as some studies report no PAPE, one study reported the advantage of a trap bar deadlift compared to a back squat [23]. Only one study has simultaneously evaluated the use of accommodating resistance and trap bar deadlift, with no PAPE reported [24]. However, some parameters in the abovementioned studies are not in agreement with the results of previously published studies [2; 4; 5; 6]. For example, sprinting is not movement-specific to a trap bar deadlift [22], and some authors claim that the training experience of the subjects may be insufficient to demonstrate increased performance [21]. Furthermore, very high intensity of CA (70% of free-weight resistance and 23% of accommodating resistance) and short rest periods (30, 90 and 180 s) could generate a high level of fatigue [24]. Taking into consideration methodological inadequacies, trap bar deadlift as a CA should be evaluated with caution. Over the years, PAPE response has been shown to be highly individual [25; 26], depending on both the parameters of CA and individual characteristics, such as muscle fiber type, gender, training status, training experience and relative strength level [2; 5; 6].