Acute effects of heavy- and light-load squat exercise on the kinetic measures of vertical jumping

This study examined the acute performance enhancing effects of a single light-load, high-velocity or heavy-load, low-velocity squat intervention set (SIS) on stimulating activity-dependent postactivation potentiation and thereby increasing vertical jumping performance. Jump performance was assessed using 4 dependent variables: net impulse, time of ground contact, and normalized peak and normalized minimum vertical ground reaction force. Resistance-trained subjects (n = 30) attended 3 independent sessions separated by 3 to 7 days. The first session served for familiarization and to determine each subject's 1 repetition maximum (1RM) in the squat. In the 2 testing sessions, subjects performed 2 countermovement jump (CMJ) sets, followed by a single SIS and then a final CMJ set. A CMJ set consisted of 3 maximal effort jumps. The testing sessions were identical except for SIS intensity, which was 40% of 1RM for 1 session and 80% of 1RM for the other. The order of the 2 testing sessions was counterbalanced within subjects. The 4 dependent variables were reduced for every jump. No significant changes were observed from pre- to post-testing in either SIS condition, nor were there any differences between the heavy and light SIS loading condition. Reasons for the lack of performance enhancement can be attributed to postactivation potentiation stimulated by the SIS being insufficient in magnitude or dissipating before post-testing. This may have been due to a submaximal workload of 50% during the SIS, insufficient movement pattern specificity between the squat exercise and a CMJ, or rest intervals of excess duration. A single SIS provides no benefit to a warm-up protocol under the current conditions.