title: The effects of adding different whole-body vibration frequencies to preconditioning exercise on subsequent sprint performance.
abstract: Rønnestad, BR and Ellefsen, S. The effects of adding different whole-body vibration frequencies to preconditioning exercise on subsequent sprint performance. J Strength Cond Res 25(12): 3306-3310, 2011-The phenomenon postactivation potentiation can possibly be used to acutely improve sprint performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of adding whole-body vibration (WBV) to body-loaded half-squats, performed as preconditioning activity to the 40-m sprint test. Nine male amateur soccer players performed 1 familiarization session and 6 separate test sessions. Each session included a standardized warm-up followed by 1 of the after preconditioning exercises: 30-seconds of half-squats with WBV at either 50 or 30 Hz or half-squats without WBV. The 40-m sprint was performed 1 minute after the preconditioning exercise. For each subject, each of the 3 protocols was repeated twice on separate days in a randomized order. Mean values were used in the statistical analysis. Performing the preconditioning exercise with WBV at a frequency of 50 Hz resulted in a superior 40-m sprint performance compared to preconditioning exercise without WBV (5.48 ± 0.19 vs. 5.52 ± 0.21 seconds, respectively, p < 0.05). There was no difference between preconditioning exercise with WBV at a frequency of 30 Hz and the no-WBV condition. In conclusion, preconditioning exercise performed with WBV at 50 Hz seems to enhance 40-m sprint performance in recreationally trained soccer players. The present findings suggest that coaches can incorporate such exercise into the warm-up to improve sprint performance or the quality of the sprint training.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Human, Sports, and Social Sciences, Lillehammer University College, Lillehammer, Norway. bent.ronnestad@hil.no
authors.forename: Bent R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Rønnestad
authors.forename: Stian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ellefsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010806:Physical Education and Training / Q000379:methods*; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D012916:Soccer / Q000502:physiology; D014732:Vibration; D055815:Young Adult