This fortnight I have included an article titled ‘USE OF LOADED CONDITIONING ACTIVITIES TO POTENTIATE MIDDLE- AND LONG-DISTANCE PERFORMANCE: A NARRATIVE REVIEW AND PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS‘ which was published in the latest issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research.
In this study, the authors looked at the use of a loaded conditioning activity (LCA), which elicits a post-activation potentiation (PAP) response to acutely enhance explosive power performance.
Despite the limited number of studies that have been conducted in this area, the tentative conclusion is that well-trained middle- and long-distance athletes are likely to obtain some benefit, particularly during the early stages of a performance, by including a loaded conditioning activity (LCA) in their warm-up routine.
Despite the limited number of studies that have been conducted in this area, the tentative conclusion is that well-trained middle- and long-distance athletes are likely to obtain some benefit, particularly during the early stages of a performance, by including a loaded conditioning activity (LCA) in their warm-up routine.
It is recommended that middle and long-distance athletes experiment with a warm-up protocol that involves a 5–10-minute self-paced warm-up at a low intensity (60% maximum heart rate) followed 5–10 minutes later by an LCA.
It is likely that a short bout of high-load resistance exercise (4–6 sets 3 5RM) or series of sprint efforts (4–6 sets x 10-secs), which include the addition of a light-moderate load will elicit a PAP response. A recovery of 5–10 minutes should be permitted after the LCA to ensure that fatigue has dissipated sufficiently to realize a benefit to performance.
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Exercise profile
In this clip, a client is performing a static hold whilst holding an uneven barbell. This requires him to engage his core musculature in order to maintain a bar position parallel to the ground.
If you are interested in learning more about muscle imbalances like this, click the button below to check out our Rehab Express course.
Infographic – mental fatigue influences aerobic exercise more than anaerobic
This graphic shows how a cognitively demanding activity negatively influences subsequent aerobic performance moreso than max strength/power efforts.
The authors feel that this might be due to the increased perception of effort rather than any specific physiological phenomenon.
Coach resource
This fortnight’s training resource is titled ‘The Top Five Glute Exercises‘ by Bret Contreras and includes some nice progressions for these core exercises.