ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2014
Ballistic exercise as a pre-activation stimulus: a review of the literature and practical applications.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of Complex Training Versus Ballistic Training on Physical Fitness Abilities of Athletes and Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Pooled it
- Optimizing Post-activation Performance Enhancement in Athletic Tasks: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis for Prescription Variables and Research Methods.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- Post-activation Performance Enhancement in the Bench Press Throw: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2020Pooled it
- The effect of complex training and ballistic exercise on the time-course adaptations of lower extremity explosive strength in elite female field hockey players.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Acute Effects of Dynamic Stretching on Mechanical Properties Result From both Muscle-Tendon Stretching and Muscle Warm-Up.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2019Trial
- The Effect of Ballistic Exercise as Pre-Activation for 100 m Sprints.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Trial
- Effects of post-activation performance enhancement on tennis serve velocity and accuracy.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Acute effects of predominantly inertial load-induced post-activation potentiation on upper-body muscle mechanics: implications for racket sports performance.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Effects of acute caffeine ingestion on post-activation performance enhancement following individualized drop-jump conditioning in high-level male basketball players: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Post-Activation Potentiation's Impact on Specialized Strike Strength in Elite Male Boxers: An Acute Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Heavy load chain squats: a promising method for enhancing lower extremity explosive strength via post-activation performance enhancement.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- How does a simulated high-intensity functional training competition influence on stress, recovery and muscle power?Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- A comparison of three post-activation potentiation enhancement warm up strategies on bench press performance.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Evaluation of rest interval following a series of tuck jumps on anaerobic performance.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2025Article
- Voluntary isometric contractions at maximal shortening as a new technique to achieve neuromuscular re-education in healthy subjects.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2025Article
- Are Surface Electromyography Parameters Indicative of Post-Activation Potentiation/Post-Activation Performance Enhancement, in Terms of Twitch Potentiation and Voluntary Performance? A Systematic Review.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Review
- Does the sequence of plyometric and dynamic stretching exercises influence subsequent sprint performance? A randomized crossover intervention study.Biology of sport · 2024Article
- Review
- Revisiting the 'Whys' and 'Hows' of the Warm-Up: Are We Asking the Right Questions?Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Post-activation potentiation (PAP) refers to the acute enhancement of muscular function as a direct result of its contractile history. Protocols designed to elicit PAP have commonly employed heavy resistance exercise (HRE) as the pre-activation stimulus; however, a growing body of research suggests that low-load ballistic exercises (BE) may also provide an effective stimulus. The ability to elicit PAP without the need for heavy equipment would make it easier to utilise prior to competition. It is hypothesised that BE can induce PAP given the high recruitment of type II muscle fibres associated with its performance. The literature has reported augmentations in power performance typically ranging from 2 to 5 %. The performance effects of BE are modulated by loading, recovery and physical characteristics. Jumps performed with an additional loading, such as depth jumps or weighted jumps, appear to be the most effective activities for inducing PAP. Whilst the impact of recovery duration on subsequent performance requires further research, durations of 1-6 min have been prescribed successfully in multiple instances. The effect of strength and sex on the PAP response to BE is not yet clear. Direct comparisons of BE and HRE, to date, suggest a tendency for HRE protocols to be more effective; future research should consider that these strategies must be optimised in different ways. The role of acute augmentations in lower limb stiffness is proposed as an additional mechanism that may further explain the PAP response following BE. In summary, BE demonstrates the potential to enhance performance in power tasks such as jumps and sprints. This review provides the reader with some practical recommendations for the application of BE as a pre-activation stimulus.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.