Author(s): SCARDINA, G., MCQUILLIAM, S.J., CANZONE, A., VICARI, D.S.S., BOCA, G., PILLITTERI, G., BIANCO, A., GIUSTINO, V., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF PALERMO, Country: ITALY, Abstract-ID: 2683

INTRODUCTION:
Post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) refers to the acute improvement in physical performance following conditioning activities (CA).1 Among the various CA modalities, plyometric exercises have been proposed as a practical and time efficient strategy to elicit PAPE responses.2 However, their practical application within soccer warm-ups remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether incorporating plyometric exercises into a standard warm-up protocol enhances subsequent sprint and jump performance in soccer players.
METHODS:
Ten male soccer players (age: 20.3±2.3 years, height: 176.0±5.2 cm, weight: 71.9±7.4 kg) completed two warm-up conditions in a randomized crossover design. The control condition followed the semi-professional team’ current warm-up routine, consisted of jogging, mobility exercises, and active and passive stretching. The PAPE condition replaced passive stretching with 3 sets of 10 repetitions of drop jumps, with total warm-up duration matched between conditions. Performance was assessed before (T0) and after (T1) each warm-up using T-test agility (s), countermovement jumps height (CMJ, cm), and sprint times at 10 m and 30 m (s). All post-tests were conducted following a 4-minute rest and within 15 minutes to capture the optimal PAPE window.3 Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA to examine time, condition, and interaction effects.
RESULTS:
Significant time x condition interactions were found for CMJ height (F=6.41, p=0.021, η²p=0.263), 10 m sprint (F=11.0, p=0.004, η²p=0.380), and 30 m sprint (F=7.11, p=0.016, η²p=0.283). The PAPE condition showed greater improvements from T0 to T1 compared to control: CMJ height increased by 5.41 cm (p<0.001) vs 1.97 cm (p=0.331), 10 m sprint time decreased by 0.061 s (p<0.001) vs 0.001 s (p=1.000), and 30 m sprint time decreased by 0.124 s (p=0.004) vs 0.011 s (p=1.000). At T1, PAPE group demonstrated significant superior performance compared to T0 in CMJ (36.40±5.30 cm vs 30.99±4.38 cm) and sprint times (10 m: 2.10±0.11 s vs 2.17±0.14 s; 30 m: 4.78±0.24 s vs 4.91±0.25 s). No significant interaction was observed for T-test agility (F=0.985, p=0.334), though both groups improved over time (F=27.9, p<0.001).
CONCLUSION:
Incorporating plyometric drop jumps into the warm-up elicited meaningful improvements in jump height and sprint performance through increased neuromuscular activation. These findings indicate that integrating brief, time-efficient plyometric conditioning activities into soccer warm-ups may be an effective strategy to optimize physical readiness before training and competition.

References:
1 Cuenca-Fernandez et al. (2017), 2 Turner et al. (2015), 3 Blazevich and Babault (2019)