Acute effects of ballistic and non-ballistic conditioning activities on the punching impact of amateur boxers

Objectives This study investigated the postactivation performance enhancement (PAPE) effects of medicine ball throwing (MBT) and bench pressing (BP) on punching impact at different recovery times. Methods Fourteen amateur boxers performed three lead-hand (lead-hand) and rear-hand straight punches (rear-hand) at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 min after MBT or BP exercise. Peak force, time to the peak force, and rate of force development (RFD) of each punch was measured by a force plate. Results There was no significant condition × time interaction effect for any variables (lead-hand: F = 0.744–0.913, p = 0.448–0.542; rear-hand: F = 0.240–1.355, p = 0.245–0.944). No significant main effect for condition for any variables (lead-hand: F = 0.103–0.219, p = 0.644–0.751; rear-hand: F = 0.070–0.459, p = 0.504–0.793). The time effect was significant on peak force ( F = 4.411, p = 0.005) and RFD ( F = 5.002, p = 0.002) of lead-hand, time to the peak force ( F = 5.791, p = 0.001) and RFD ( F = 5.514, p = 0.001) of rear-hand. Peak force and RFD of the lead-hand, as well as time to the peak force and RFD of the rear-hand enhanced significantly at 6–15 min ( p = 0.001–0.042), compared to the baseline. Conclusions MBT and BP may equally enhance punching impact for amateur boxers; moreover, there was no difference in recovery time between conditioning activities.