Exploring the Rating of Perceived Exertion in the First Repetition (RPE-1) on Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Trained Individuals: A Pilot Study

(1) Background: Limited research has examined elastic resistance preconditioning effects on post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) using the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) as an intensity indicator. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the application of RPE to the elastic resistance push-press (ERPP) exercise performed at maximum velocity for its effects on PAPE. (2) Methods: Twenty-four trained, healthy young adults participated in this study and performed both a conventional warm-up and a warm-up combined with six repetitions of an elastic resistance push-press (ERPP) at 85% 1RM/RPE of the first repetition (RPE-1) of 6 out of 10. The pre-post variables assessed were push-ups, a countermovement jump (CMJ), and 10 and 20 m sprints. A repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted. Additionally, between-subject variability was adjusted for individual performance. (3) Results: In the push-up, a significant improvement (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05) of 20.41% in mean propulsive velocity was observed among the less strong participants. A medium effect size improvement (d = 0.47; <i>p</i> = 0.13) was observed in CMJ performance (7.93%) among the less strong participants. Significant improvements were noted in sprint performance over 10 m (8.07%) and 20 m (6.23%) in the ERPP group compared with the standard warm-up, particularly in the less strong participants. The stronger participants exhibited no significant changes in either variable. (4) Conclusions: We concluded that ERPP effectively induced PAPE in the less strong participants. Additionally, RPE-1 is proposed as a tool to monitor intensity in elastic band resistance to induce PAPE.