Post-activation performance enhancement methods in team sport athletes: a systematic review with meta-analysis

The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the acute effect of three post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) methods on jump height and running sprint time in team sport athletes. The PAPE methods involved either high-load low-velocity exercises (i.e., squat 80% of one repetition maximum [1 RM]), low-load high-velocity exercises (i.e., jump), or their combination (contrast exercises).

A database search (EBSCOHost, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed) retrieved 1588 records, and 53 articles were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The DerSimonian and Laird inverse variance random-effects model for meta-analyses was used to calculate the effect size (ES) with 95% confidence interval. The methodological quality of the studies and the certainty of the evidence were evaluated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) scales, respectively.

Jump height and running sprint time meta-analyses included 857 and 448 athletes, respectively, from soccer, basketball, volleyball, rugby, European handball, and American football. Overall, 35 studies (median = 6 points) were categorized as “high quality” according to the PEDro scale. Furthermore, of the 14 global ES values judged with the GRADE analysis, one was classified as “moderate,” five as “low,” and eight as “very low” certainty of evidence. Compared with the control condition, jump height performance significantly improved using jump-based PAPE methods that included countermovement jump exercises (ES = 0.54, p = 0.010) and a combination of different types of jump exercises (ES = 0.62, p < 0.001). Sprint time performance improved significantly after squat-based (80–100% 1 RM) PAPE (ES = 0.12, p = 0.035).

Jump-based and squat-based (heavy-load) PAPE methods appear to be effective in producing acute enhancements in jump height and running sprint time, between 0–15 min and 0–10 min post-intervention, respectively, in team sport athletes compared with traditional low- to moderate-intensity warm-up protocols.