The Acute Effects of a Resistance Training Warmup on Sprint Performance

Twenty male rugby union players were tested to determine the acute effect of a resistance training warmup on subsequent 20-m sprint performance. The study consisted of a repeated measures design with two experimental conditions. During the control (C) condition, the participants performed a 20-m sprint, rested for 10min, and then repeated the 20-m sprint. During the experimental (E) condition, the second sprint was preceded by five repetitions of a back-squat with a load equal to each participant's five repetition maximum (5RM). Sprint times were recorded using New Test digital recording equipment. The results showed a mean improvement of 0.098s (p<0.0001) when the second sprint was preceded by the back squats. This amounted to a 3.3% improvement on the precondition time. During the control condition, no improvement was observed between the first and second sprint. The improved sprint times observed during the E condition probably were due to a temporary increase in the efficiency of neuromuscular activation following the performance of heavy-load back squats.