Effects of Delayed Potentiation in Sub-elite Female Soccer Players

Abstract: There are several strategies to enhance athletes’ physical abilities, both long-term and acutely. Two of these strategies are periodization, which often spans from months to years, and tapering, spanning several weeks. However, given the timeframe of efficacy from the aforementioned strategies, they are better suited to a few competitions rather than on a weekly basis. Later research has proposed a “delayed potentiation” strategy, which spans from 6 - 48 hours. However, research in support of its efficacy is limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of delayed potentiation in sub-elite female soccer players.Thirty-one sub-elite female football players were divided into two groups (age: 21.2 ± 2.9 years, bodyweight: 61.7 ± 6.3 kg, height: 168.2 ± 6.8 cm & 1RM trap-bar deadlift: 96.1 ± 10.8). The intervention group performed 6 x 4 sets of loaded trap-bar jumps. Variables examined 24 hours after intervention were countermovement jump performance, 10 and 20-m sprint. An ANCOVA was conducted to determine a statistically significant difference between the two groups, controlling for pre-test scores. The ANCOVA revealed no significant difference between intervention and control group for post-test countermovement-jump, 10 and 20-m sprint controlling for pre-test scores (p = 0.69, d = 0.14, p = 0.58, d = 0.19 and p = 0.61, d = 0.17 respectively.) Thus, delayed potentiation did not significantly affect sub-elite female soccer players' explosive performance in the lower extremities.