Low-Load Conditioning with Blood Flow Restriction and Whole-Body Vibration Induces Post-Activation Performance Enhancement Effects and Improves Anaerobic Performance: A Pilot Study

This study examined the post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) effects of low-load conditioning (30% of 1 repetition maximum (RM) squat) with blood flow restriction (BFR) or whole-body vibration (WBV) only, and with both BFR and WBV on anaerobic performance. Forty anaerobically-trained men were randomly allocated into one of the four groups: CON, BFR, WBV or BFR+WBV, and completed five visits: Visit 1: 1RM test and familiarization session; Visit 2: Wingate test; and Visits 3 to 5: conditioning according to the group assignment, followed by a Wingate test after different rest intervals: 4 (T4), 8 (T8) or 12 (T12) min on each visit, respectively, in randomized order. Capillary blood lactate samples were collected at the 3^rd, the 5^th, the 8^th and the 10^th min after the Wingate test. Analysis revealed significant interaction effects between group and time on peak blood lactate concentration (p < 0.019). The within-group analysis showed that compared to PRE, 1) mean power (mean-P), mean power/body mass (mean-P/BM) and total work (TW) of all three groups were significantly greater at T8 (p < 0.045); 2) peak power and peak power/body mass of the BFR and the WBV group were greater at T8 (p < 0.024); 3) minimal power of the BFR+WBV group was significantly lower, and fatigue slopes were significantly greater at T8 (p < 0.032); and 4) mean-P, mean-P/BM and TW of the BFR+WBV group were significantly greater at T4 (p < 0.015). Low-load conditioning combined with BFR or WBV may induce potential PAPE to enhance anaerobic performance, and the combined-type of the protocol may induce such benefits in a faster time fashiont.