Post-Activation Performance Enhancement as a Strategy to Improve Bench Press Performance to Volitional Failure

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Post-Activation Performance Enhancement (PAPE) is recognized for improving acute force output.
• The impact of PAPE on performance until volitional failure in resistance training remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of a PAPE protocol on bench press performance until volitional failure in trained individuals.
• To analyze changes in repetition volume, movement velocity, and velocity loss under PAPE conditions.

Main Methods:

• A controlled study involving 14 resistance-trained participants.
• Participants underwent a 1RM test, a control condition (bench press to failure at 80% 1RM), and an experimental condition (PAPE protocol followed by bench press to failure at 80% 1RM).
• The PAPE protocol involved a single heavy repetition at 93% 1RM.

Main Results:

• Participants performed significantly more repetitions to volitional failure following the PAPE protocol compared to the control condition (p = 0.008).
• The final repetition in the PAPE condition was slower (p = 0.02), and a greater velocity loss was observed (p = 0.004).

Conclusions:

• A traditional PAPE protocol effectively enhances the number of repetitions achievable in a resistance training set to volitional failure.
• PAPE may be a valuable strategy for athletes seeking to maximize training volume and stimulate muscle hypertrophy.