Review article - (2022)21, 625 - 639
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52082/jssm.2022.625
Effects of Unilateral Conditioning Activity on Acute Performance Enhancement: A Systematic Review
Michał Krzysztofik1,2, Michał Wilk1,2, Anna Pisz1, Dominik Kolinger1, Athanasios Tsoukos3, Piotr Aschenbrenner4, Petr Stastny1, Gregory C. Bogdanis3,
1Department of Sport Games, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
2Institute of Sport Sciences, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Katowice, Poland
3School of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
4Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport, Poland

Gregory C. Bogdanis
✉ School of Physical Education and Sport Science, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Email: gbogdanis@phed.uoa.gr
Received: 21-11-2022 -- Accepted: 30-11-2022
Published (online): 01-12-2022

ABSTRACT

This review aimed to summarize the reported effects of unilateral conditioning activity (CA) on unilateral performance, bilateral performance, and the contribution of activated body limb to bilateral performance. A systematic search on MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, and Google Scholar was conducted on February 2022. Twenty-three studies met the inclusion criteria. Throwing, jumping, swimming, change of direction, and isokinetic performance were used as outcome measures to assess the impact of unilateral CAs on inducing post-activation performance enhancement. Eleven studies examined the effectiveness of resistance exercises as a CA, seven investigated plyometric exercises, and five used isokinetic muscle actions as CAs. Notably, only three studies directly compared the effects of bilateral and unilateral CA, and no study reported possible changes in the contribution of each limb during bilateral exercises executed following unilateral CA. Split squats were the most often studied CA (7), and it was shown that multiple sets of high-loaded split squats (85% one-repetition maximum) executed as CA, improve vertical jumping and change of direction after 4 to 8 min of recovery. At the same time, multiple sets of alternate leg bounds performed with ~10% body weight or without any external load result in an improvement of sprint performance, 2 and 8 min later, with the effect being greater when loaded jumps are used. The unilateral CAs such as split squats, alternate leg bounds, and drop jumps can be effectively used to acutely improve a wide variety of athletic tasks, including jumping, sprinting, change of direction, and swimming performance.

Key words: Post-activation performance enhancement, post-activation potentiation, athletic performance, resistance training

Key Points
  • Coaches and practitioners may take advantage of the effectiveness of a single limb body-weight conditioning activity, such as, i.e., alternating leg bounds as a part of pre-competition warm- ups to enhance subsequent performance without needing specific equipment.
  • The effectiveness of conditioning activity exercises appears to be force-vector specific, i.e., vertical drop jumps improve vertical jump performance, while horizontal drop jumps enhance sprint and change of direction performance.
  • The effects of single limb conditioning activity on the contralateral limb have not been thoroughly examined. However, the limited evidence shows that the post-activation performance enhancement effect is mainly local.








Back
|
Full Text
|
PDF
|
Share