Post-activation performance enhancement effect of drop jump on long jump performance during competition.

Drop jump is widely used in training sessions, aiming for chronic effects on long jump performance. However, the acute effect of drop jump on long jump performance through its use as a Conditioning Activity (CA) has not been explored. The objective of this study was to verify the Post-activation Performance Enhancement (PAPE) responses induced by successive Drop Jumps (DJ) on competitive long jump performance. Eleven male jumpers (19.0 ± 2.0 years; 178.0 ± 9.0 cm; 73.1 ± 8.9 kg; and personal record 5.78 ± 0.44 m) volunteered for participation. The athletes performed 5 drop jumps 2 min (1'45-2'15 min) before the second, and fourth attempt during official competition of state level, the attempts without the use of CA were considered controls. The performance of the second (5.63 ± 0.43 m), third (5.65 ± 0.46, g = 0.24) and fourth (5.71 ± 0.34 m) jumps performed after activation were higher than the first (5.54 ± 0.45 m) in the control condition, p = 0.02, and p = 0.01 respectively. Differences were also found in the take-off vertical velocity of the jump between the fourth (1.55 ± 0.21) and the first jump (1.30 ± 0.40), p = 0.006. Jump performance showed positive correlation with approach velocity, r = 0.731, vertical take-off velocity, r = 0.412, and take-off duration, r = 0.508. The mean performance in jumping post-activation (5.67 ± 0.38 m) was higher than that without the use of previous CA (5.59 ± 0.44 m), p = 0.02, g = 0.19. The use of DJs as a CA prior to the long jump promotes improvements in the performance of the jump, which can be explained by the increase in the take-off vertical velocity in the athletes.

Acute effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on peak torque and 5000 m running performance: a randomized controlled trial.

The benefits of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on brain function, cognitive response, and motor ability are well described in scientific literature. Nevertheless, the effects of tDCS on athletes' performance remain unclear. To compare the acute effects of tDCS on the running performance of 5000 m (m) runners. Eighteen athletes were randomized into Anodal (n = 9) groups that received tDCS for 20 min and 2 mA, and Sham (n = 9), in the motor cortex region (M1). Running time in 5000 m, speed, perceived exertion (RPE), internal load and peak torque (Pt) were evaluated. The Shapiro-Wilk test followed by a paired Student's t-test was used to compare Pt and total time to complete the run between the groups. The running time and speed of the Anodal group (p = 0.02; 95% CI 0.11-2.32; d = 1.24) was lower than the Sham group (p = 0.02, 95% CI 0.05-2.20; d = 1.15). However, no difference was found in Pt (p = 0.70; 95% CI - 0.75 to 1.11; d = 0.18), RPE (p = 0.23; 95% CI - 1.55 to 0.39; d = 0.60) and internal charge (p = 0.73; 95% CI - 0.77 to 1.09; d = 0.17). Our data indicate that tDCS can acutely optimize the time and speed of 5000 m runners. However, no alterations were found for Pt and RPE.