Background: Postactivation performance enhancement (PAPE) consists of a transitory increase of voluntary movement performance following a conditioning activity. This study aimed to evaluate the change in countermovement jump (CMJ) height following 2 squat protocols differing in volume, and to elucidate whether the magnitude of this change differs in function of the athletes’ maximal power output (Pmax).
Methods: Twenty-three male athletes were tested in 4 sessions. The Pmax during the CMJ exercise was determined in the session 1, and the squat one-repetition maximum (1RM) was evaluated in the session 2. The squat protocols (low-volume: 1 set of 3 repetitions at 65%1RM; high-volume: 3 sets of 3 repetitions at 65%RM) were randomly performed during sessions 3 and 4. CMJ height was assessed before and 2, 4, 8, and 12 minutes after the squat protocols.
Results: The main effect of time (P=0.198) or the interaction time × protocol (P=0.112) were not significant. The low-volume protocol induced less fatigue, allowing to maintain higher CMJ height values (P<0.001; 95% confidence interval=0.52, 1.54 cm). High-Pmax group jumped significantly higher than low-Pmax.
Conclusions: Despite we are not presenting the so called “positive results,” a low-volume protocol could be a less fatiguing strategy to not impair short-term (≤12 min) vertical jump performance.