Effects of different rest intervals following postactivation performance enhancement on multiple components of performance-related fitness in elite athletes

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different rest intervals fol-lowing postactivation performance enhancement (PAPE) on upper- and lower-body skill-related physical fitness in elite athletes. Seven male elite athletes participated in a crossover design and completed four ex-perimental conditions: the control (CON), the 3-min rest (R3), the 8-min rest (R8), and the 12-min rest (R12) groups following PAPE. In the PAPE conditions, participants performed additional warm-up sets at 50% and 70% of one-repetition maximum, followed by one set of five-repetition maximum bench press and squat, whereas the CON did not include PAPE. Results showed that upper-body agility significantly improved in the R3 and R12 groups compared to the CON group (P<0.05), whereas upper-body power and balance showed no significant changes. Low-er-body power and balance were significantly enhanced, with the most consistent improvements observed in the R3 group (P<0.05), while low-er-body agility did not significantly differ among conditions. In whole-body performance, coordination significantly improved in the R3 group compared to the CON group (P<0.05), whereas reaction time and sprint performance were not significantly affected. Overall, the effects of PAPE varied according to performance task and body region, with significant improvements mainly observed in upper-body agility, lower-body power and balance, and whole-body coordination, particularly following the R3 interval. Shorter recovery intervals may provide benefits for selected performance outcomes in elite athletes.