Influence of Ballistic Bench Press on Upper Body Power Output in Professional Rugby Players

ABSTRACT: The use of heavy resistance exercise provides an effective preload stimulus for inducing postactivation potentiation (PAP) and increasing peak power output (PPO). However, this approach has limited application in many sporting situations (e.g. incorporation in a pre-competition warm-up) and therefore more practical strategies for inducing PAP need to be investigated.The aim of the current study was to compare PPO changes after performing a preload stimulus of either a ballistic exercise or a traditional heavy resistance exercise. Twenty professional rugby union players completed 3 testing sessions, each separated by 48 hours. On the first occasion, subjects underwent a 3RM bench press testing session. On the next two occasions, subjects performed a ballistic bench throw at baseline (30% of 1 repetition maximum), followed by a preload stimulus of either heavy bench press (HRT; 3 sets of 3 repetitions at 87% 1RM) or ballistic bench press (BBP; 3 sets of 3 repetitions at 30% on repetition maximum 1RM) followed by ballistic bench throw after 8 minutes recovery. The trials were randomised and counter-balanced. Both preload stimuli protocols increased PPO compared to baseline (BBP Baseline 892 ± 108 vs. 8 min 924 ± 119 W, P