How differing warm up types affect short power performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects on short power performance with the use of three different warm up protocols, utilising static, dynamic and a combination of these exercises. Nine undergraduate students (mean age 21.6 +/- 1.0) performed three different warm up routines in random order on non-consecutive days. The warm up protocols consisted of 5 minutes jogging then 10 minutes static stretching, 10 minutes of dynamic exercise or 10 minutes using a combination of both these warm up types. Following each warm up session, subjects were tested with a countermovement jump on a jump mat then a 40 m sprint with the first 10 m tested for acceleration. Analysis of the data suggested no significant difference between countermovement jumps after undertaking each of the warm ups. A significant difference was established between the dynamic and static warm up (P < 0.05) within the 10 m acceleration run although no significance was found in any other comparisons. In the 40 m sprint there was a significant difference when dynamic was related to static and mixed (P < 0.05), however there was no difference when static and mixed warm ups were compared. The results from this study suggest that a dynamic warm up is the preferable warm up, although this is not consistent in all activities as indicated by the differing results in the countermovement jump, suggesting further exploration. Generally the static stretching and mixed warm ups gave lower results than the dynamic warm ups, suggesting that the use of static stretching may be detrimental to performance. Because the results of this study indicate a performance enhancement with the dynamic warm up, the use of static warm up routines as a preparation activity should be reassessed.