The Effect of Warm-Ups Incorporating Different Volumes of Dynamic Stretching on 10- and 20-m Sprint Performance in Highly Trained Male Athletes

Abstract

Recently, athletes have transitioned from traditional static stretching during warm-ups to incorporating dynamic stretching routines. However, the optimal volume of dynamic drills is yet to be identified. The aim of this repeated-measures study was to examine varying volumes (1, 2, and 3 sets) of active dynamic stretching (ADS) in a warm-up on 10- and 20-m sprint performance. With a within-subject design, 16 highly trained male participants (age: 20.9 ± 1.3 years; height: 179.7 ± 5.7 cm; body mass: 72.7 ± 7.9 kg; % body fat: 10.9 ± 2.4) completed a 5-minute general running warm-up before performing 3 preintervention measures of 10- to 20-m sprint. The interventions included 1, 2, and 3 sets of active dynamic stretches of the lower-body musculature (gastrocnemius, gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors) performed approximately 14 times for each exercise while walking (ADS1, ADS2, and ADS3). The active dynamic warm-ups were randomly allocated before performing a sprint-specific warm-up. Five minutes separated the end of the warm-up and the 3 postintervention measures of 10- to 20-m sprints. There were no significant time, condition, and interaction effects over the 10-m sprint time. For the 0- to 20-m sprint time, a significant main effect for the pre-post measurement (F = 10.81; p < 0.002), the dynamic stretching condition (F = 6.23; p = 0.004) and an interaction effect (F = 41.19; p = 0.0001) were observed. A significant decrease in sprint time (improvement in sprint performance) post-ADS1 (2.56%, p = 0.001) and post-ADS2 (2.61%, p = 0.001) was observed. Conversely, the results indicated a significant increase in sprint time (sprint performance impairment) post-ADS3 condition (2.58%, p = 0.001). Data indicate that performing 1-2 sets of 20 m of active dynamic stretches in a warm-up can enhance 20-m sprint performance. The results delineated that 3 sets of ADS repetitions could induce acute fatigue and impair sprint performance within 5 minutes of the warm-up.

The Performance Measures of Orienteers: Late Adolescents, Young Adults and Adults

“…21,26,27 Speed of the orienteers was better than previous literature which included orienteers however worse than other studies which included other sportsmen. 21,28 Comparison between age groups showed no difference, thus representing that orienteers' agility and speed are improved in late adolescence ages. Flexibility scores of the athletes showed that they can touch forward from their toes and all groups had required low back and hamstring flexibility.…”

Ten Minutes of Dynamic Stretching Is Sufficient to Potentiate Vertical Jump Performance Characteristics

“…The literature indicates that dynamic stretching can show facilitation of power (62,91,92), sprint (28,60,85), and jump (47,49,68) performance. There are also studies that report no effect of dynamic stretching on performance (14,18,75,84,86).…”

“…In contrast, as the conditioning contraction volume increases, so does fatigue. Turki et al (85) reported that performing 1 and 2 sets of dynamic stretching over 20 m led to a significant improvement in the 20-m sprint time but that 3 sets adversely affected 20-m sprint performance, which was attributed to the presence of concurrent fatigue. The additional volume of the deadlift protocol with the dynamic stretching in this study did not provide further benefit.…”

“…The participants were continually instructed to maintain a vertical torso, with knees toward chest, while performing the active dynamic stretching exercises. The active dynamic stretches have been used previously (68,85).…”

The effects of different volumes of dynamic stretching on 20-M repeated sprint ability performance

“…Numerous studies have documented various protocols in the stretching volume used, ranging from a single set to seven sets [4,12,13,14,15]. A previous study found that two sets of 20m of active dynamic stretching showed a significantly decreased time sprint and the researchers concluded that two sets of active dynamic stretching has preferable benefits on sprint performance [9]. However, in another similar study, the researchers did not find any significant changes in RSA variables after two sets of active dynamic stretching (ADS) [10].…”