Pro-tip of the day: Post-activation potentiation

The post-activation potentiation is an effect that occurs at the muscular level that consists of an abundant improvement of muscular performance after a stimulus that has been received previously.

It can be very useful for Powerlifting and Strongman practitioners when they want to set a new record due to the notable improvements that are given (5-12% improvement) or in explosive athletic categories such as jumping.

To activate it you will need:

A contraction phase, there are different forms of activation, for example using a weight greater than our 1RM but doing only the eccentric phase of the movement or in exercises such as bench press use a Slingshot to do a weight greater than the 1RM, also to a lesser extent this contraction would occur with 2- 4 repetitions to failure.

A resting phase, which would vary between 4 to 12 minutes, so to get away from fatigue but also be close to improving performance by warming up, I will recommend a 6-7 minute rest.

The effect lasts a few minutes and you have to take advantage of it.

Patrick S. Walsh

With a degree in sports science and physiotherapy, having specialized in chronic pain, he spends most of his time assisting other athletes and coaches to improve mechanical and stress work in their training sessions, he also assists athletes in chronic pain related issues and its possible implications at the neuronal level.