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PAP Can Shave Time Off Cyclist Race Times

In a new study, doing leg presses before a 20km trial cut cyclist times significantly.

Doug Dupont

Written by Doug Dupont Last updated on Nov 22, 2021

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about post-activation potentiation (PAP). But despite the extensive research done as of late, we still need more information on whether PAP works for athletic events that are mostly aerobic. This topic was covered in a recent Journal of Strength and Conditioning study.

Just in case you have been living under the aforementioned metaphorical rock, let me briefly explain what PAP is. The basic idea is that performing an intense bout of exercise will increase performance in a subsequent activity, as long as the muscles used are similar in both exercises. There seems to be an ideal window where there is no fatigue left over from the first exercise, but the nervous system is still primed and ready for exercise.

Because of the neurological component of PAP, it stands to reason it might not work so well on aerobic endeavors. Endurance exercise, like a 5km foot race, or, as in the Journal study, a 20km cycling effort, is limited to a much greater extent by aerobic metabolism than a peak power or skill effort, which has a much more substantial neurological component.

The participants of the study were eleven trained and experienced cyclists. They were already familiar with the type of testing performed in this study. Each participant was first evaluated on the leg press. The goal was to determine their five rep max (5RM). This was then to be used as the PAP exercise for the subsequent 20km cycling test. Using their 5RM as a starting point, the cyclists did four sets of leg press until concentric fatigue in the PAP condition. They then rested for ten minutes before the 20k time trial. When they performed the control condition, they did nothing before the time trial. The researchers drew blood, tested for oxygen utilization, and measured power output and perceived exertion.

Out of the studied factors, a few important ones were improved. Cycling economy, which is the energy required to maintain a particular pace, was improved in the PAP condition. Also, interestingly, the PAP increased power output for the first ten percent of the trial. This would suggest the limits of the time that PAP is effective, as mentioned earlier. It also means the PAP benefit extended through the ten-minute rest period and then perhaps a further two or three minutes into the time trial.

The most important factor that improved was time. The PAP participants clocked a 6.1% faster time than the control group, or an average of 1.5 minutes over a nearly thirty-minute effort. Over a 20km cycling time, an improvement of that degree is substantial. The improvement could have made the difference between first place and middle of the pack.

These improvements occurred in spite of no difference in physiological factors, like blood lactate. Keep in mind also, that there was no difference in perceived exertion. In other words, if you try out PAP, your efforts might feel the same, but rest assured your performance is improving.

References:

1. Renato Silva, et. al., “Acute Prior Heavy Strength Exercise Bouts Improve the 20-Km Cycling Time Trial Performance,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000442

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Doug Dupont

About Doug Dupont

Having grown up at the foot of a forest covered mountain in rural Vermont, Doug was active from a very young age. Hiking, running, and climbing were a part of everyday life in the Green Mountains. This culture of exercise led to dabbling in martial arts as a teen, and also getting work in a local powerlifting focused gym. Doug continued to pursue knowledge and training in exercise, becoming a certified personal trainer while still a teenager. Once in college he began his hand at the business side of fitness, taking a management position at a large local gym. During that time he became a founding member of the UVM Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club, and was the first among their competition team. After only a few months he was assisting in coaching, and ran conditioning program for the club.

Out of college Doug set up his own training center. He grew his list of clientele including several professional MMA athletes, eventually going so far as to corner a world title fight. He has continued ­­­to develop his business into today.

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