Potencialização pós-ativação simultânea entre membros superiores e inferiores com exercício arremesso (clean and jerk)

Abstract

The phenomenon of Post-Activation Potentiation (PPA) has been the subject of several studies on sports training since it can acutely increase performance in strength and power sports. In these studies, the exercises used as conditioning activity were selected to investigate potentiation exclusively in upper or lower limbs. However, an exercise that alone was capable of simultaneously potentiating these limbs was not tested. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate, at different intervals, whether the Clean and Jerk exercise produces PPA simultaneously in upper and lower limbs. The sample consisted of 12 male Weightlifting (WL) practitioners who have a maximum load (1RM) in the Clean and Jerk equivalent to ≥ 1.15 times their own body mass. Practitioners were randomly subjected to 2 experimental conditions: In the Clean and Jerk condition, participants performed a protocol of 4 sets of Clean and Jerk with a 2-minute interval between them (1x3.30%1RM, 1x3.50%1RM, 1x3.65 %1RM and 1x3.80%1RM) and then, after 4, 7 and 12 minutes, perform the countermovement jump (CMJ) and bench press throw (BPT) tests. The control condition had similar procedures, but without the execution of the Clean and Jerk. The maximum height of jumps and barbell throws were recorded in BPT. The ANOVA test of repeated measures was used to verify if there was a statistical difference regarding the condition (Pitch vs. Control) and time (4 vs 7 vs 12 minutes) factors. When necessary, Bonferroni post-hoc was used to identify where differences occurred. An effect size (ES) and respective confidence interval (IC) calculation was also performed to verify the magnitude of the effect on the dependent variables. The significance level adopted was 5%. The Clean and Jerk condition was superior compared to the control condition, both for CMJ (F = 5.550; p < 0.05; ES = 0.30; CI = -1.10 ←→ 0.51) and for BPT (F = 5.471; p < 0.05; ES = 0.26; CI = -1.06 ←→ 0.55), regardless of time. Thus, the Clean and Jerk exercise was able to generate PPA simultaneously in upper and lower limbs. In this way, strength and power sports practitioners can enjoy the benefit of, with the execution of a single PPA protocol, an acute increase in interlimb performance, thus optimizing their training sessions or even competition situations.