Corresponding author: Emerson Franchini Tel +55-11-3091-2124 Fax +55-11-3091-2124 E-mail INTRODUCTION
Combat sports are complex modalities in which technique, tactics, and physical fitness contribute to competitive performance [1]. These sports can be divided into unarmed and armed categories. The unarmed disciplines can be further subdivided into grappling sports, striking sports, and mixed modalities. In turn, armed disciplines can be divided into thrusting, striking and hybrid [2]. Even though each of these modalities has its own operational principles, rules, and technical repertoire, when the energy system contributions were assessed, the main contributing system for them was the oxidative [1]. However, despite the aerobic predominance, scoring actions are typically sustained by the anaerobic systems, especially the phosphagen system (ATP-PCr), given that muscle power is a key element in these actions [1]. Previous studies have demonstrated that higher level grapplers achieve higher values of mechanical power against heavy loads compared to lower level ones [3,4], while for strikers mechanical power generated with lighter loads is more appropriate to differentiate higher and lower-level athletes [5]. For mixed martial arts athletes, who execute both grappling and striking techniques during their matches, higher level athletes are able to achieve greater mechanical power when tested with both lighter and heavier loads compared to lower level athletes [6].
Therefore, to cope with the demand for high mechanical power development necessary for successful technique execution combat sports athletes engage in several practices to improve their muscle power, using both general and specific training means [7]. Complex training is one of the training strategies recommended to develop muscle power, as it provides stimuli to both high force and high speed parts of the force-velocity relationship [8]. Typically, complex training is executed combining heavy and light loads with insufficient interval to potentiate the performance in the lighter load exercise [8]. Up to 2017, the strategy of combining a conditioning activity (e.g., using heavy load) followed by a main task (e.g., exercise with light or optimal load to generate maximal mechanical power) in which performance was intended to be increased due to the combination of loads and optimal interval was denominated postactivation potentiation (PAP). However, since 2017, the term postactivation performance enhancement (PAPE) has been used to indicate the strategy of combining two different stimuli with the goal of increasing performance in the second one [9]. Previous meta-analyses [10,11] indicated that the effects of this strategy were more pronounced when the sample was constituted by athletes, involved lower-body dynamic muscle actions, using moderate loads (60% to 84% of one repetition-maximum, 1RM) and multiple sets as conditioning activity, with intervals of 3 minutes to 10 minutes between the conditioning activity and the main task. Seitz and Haff [12] directed their focus on the comparison between weaker and stronger individuals and demonstrated that for stronger individuals, shorter rest intervals, single sets, and RM loads (i.e., up to concentric failure) maximized the responses, whereas for weaker individuals, longer rest intervals, multiple sets, and submaximal loads (i.e., repetition should cease before concentric failure) were the best combination. For both stronger and weaker individuals greater effects were observed with partial squats than with full squats. Additionally, these authors reported small effects for jump, throw, and upper-body ballistic performance activities, and moderate effects for sprint performance activity when the effect sizes were considered. However, meta-analysis reporting no significant effect of conditioning activity is also available [13] for the vertical jump performance as the main activity, when the cumulative results of 179 effects from 36 studies were considered. These authors, also showed that 3 to 7 minutes intervals between the conditioning activity and the vertical jump resulted in favorable performance outcomes [13]. Conversely, intervals shorter than 3 minutes or conditioning activity using isometric actions resulted in impaired performance. Even though there is a meta-analysis about the PAPE in combat sports [14], these authors considered non-combat-sports-specific tasks only, which limits the application to either combat sports competition performance or training sessions to improve muscle power in combat sport-specific.
Nonetheless, such strategy is important for combat sports, as it is assumed that it can acutely increase muscle power performance for a key action to be executed in competition or that an athlete generating greater values of mechanical power in each training session is likely to develop higher muscle power compared to a condition in which lower values are generated during the execution of a given exercise. Thus, the aim of this narrative review was to present the main studies investigating the combination of conditioning activities and muscle power-related actions following these stimuli, with special attention to its application to improved performance, considering the level of athletes, the type of both conditioning activity and the tasks, as well as the interval between them. It was decided to explore unarmed combat sports only, to include investigations that applied conditioning activities involving resistance exercises, calisthenics or plyometrics followed by sport-specific tests, i.e., aerobic exercises were not included in the present review. As the present review focused on combat sport-specific performance, the results of non-specific tests were omitted when reporting the findings of studies that investigated both combat sport-specific and non-specific performance tasks. Additionally, studies investigating the addictive effect of conditioning activity and nutritional interventions such as caffeine supplementation (e.g., Ouergui et al. [15]) or music stimuli (e.g., Messaoudi et al. [16]) were not included in this narrative review. To provide a better differentiation between sports, studies exploring grappling and striking combat sports were divided.
1. Combat sports and post-activation performance enhancement
Table 1 presents selected studies investigating post-activation performance enhancement in combat sports-specific tests.
Table 1.
Post-activation performance enhancement and combat sports-specific performance
| Study | Sample | Conditioning Activity (CA) | Interval | Main activity | Main Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Striking combat sports | |||||
| Boxing | |||||
| Finlay et al. [17] |
10 male senior elite amateur boxers. Age: 19.7±1.2 years |
Elastic resistance (ER): 2×5 repetitions of maximal concentric jab and cross punches with ER Isometric (ISO) maximal voluntary contraction (MVC): 3×3-sec punch-specific MVC's against the force plate in both jab and cross stance Control trial (CON): no CA, rest after specific warm-up |
3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 min |
Punch force (PF) variables 2 repetitions of jab, cross, lead hook, and rear hook punches against a vertically mounted force plate, each punch type interspersed by 5s recovery |
No significant interactions between CA and time were found in all performance variables, across all trials. Effects for time: ↑ peak and average force in all punches, except for the jab. |
| Yi et al. [18] |
10 amateur boxers. Age: 19.20±1.55 years. Training experience: 5.40±2.54 years |
Ballistic exercise (BE) - 4×8 repetitions of squat jumps loaded with 30% 1RM, Heavy-resistance exercise (HRE) - 3×5 repetitions of squats loaded with 80% 1RM With 90 sec of passive recovery between sets Without Control condition |
3, 6, 9, and 12 min | Rear-hand straight punch best of 3 times for each time delay: PF (N) and PS (m/s) |
No significant interactions between condition and time for all performance variables. Punch ↑force 9 min×baseline (p=.031) BE ↑7.49±8.94% HRE ↑7.49±8.09% ↑ speed 9 min×baseline (p=.005) BE ↑7.25±9.51% HRE ↑7.73±10.25% |
| Cui et al. [19] |
24 male elite boxers. Age: 19.14±1.82 years. National level. |
PAP training protocols 85% 1RM squat; 10VL- 2×number reps at 10% velocity loss, 20VL- 2×number reps at 20% velocity loss, CON - traditional protocol, based on repetitions of % 1RM (2×6-8 reps) |
4, 8, 12, and 16 min |
Punching ability test Punch force (PF), speed (PS), and power (PP) |
Punching speed (m/s) Dominant side, for 20 VL: ↑ speed in 8 min, and 12 min compared to pre, 4 min and 16 min (p<.05) Non-dominant side, for 10 VL: ↑ speed in 8 min and 12 min compared to pre (p<.05) Punching force (N) Dominant side No interaction, only time effect (p<.001): ↑ force in 12 min compared with others Non-dominant side No interaction, only time effect (p<.001): ↑ force in 8 min Punching power (W) Dominant side: ↑ power in 12 min compared to others in CON, 10 VL and 20 VL (p<.05), ↑ power in 8 min compared to others for 20 VL (p<.05). Non-dominant side: ↑ power in 8 min compared to pre for CON and 20 VL (p<.05)↑ power (p<.05) in 12 min compared to pre and 16 min for 10 VL as for 8 min compared with pre, 4 min and 16 min |
| Finlay et al. [20] |
10 male senior elite amateur boxers. Age: 19.8±1.3 years. |
ISO: 3×3-second MVC's of an ISO jab and cross + 2 punch-specific upper-body; ER trial: 2x5 elasticaded punches+2 punch-specific upper-body; CON: rest after warm-up. |
Individualized (optimal punch performance) between 2 and 13 min after each condition was selected | Boxing-specific Exercise Protocol (BSEP) - 3×3-min punch bag simulation, interspersed with 1-min recovery intervals. |
No significant interactions between conditions and time were found in all performance variables, across all trials. Effects for time ↑ peak and average force in all punches, except for the jab. |
| Karate Robalino et al. [23] |
16 male karate athletes at national competition level (Shotokan style: 2 brown belts and 14 black belts). Age: 25.6±7.1 years. Training experience: 11.0±4.9 years. |
Condition involving Whole-Body Vibration (WBV) sinusoidal vibrations at a fixed vibration frequency of 26 Hz and 4 mm amplitude CON - without WBV |
2 min | Mawashi Geri Test |
Mawashi geri Attack phase time between condition ↓ WBV [pre: 0.31±0.03 sec; post: 0.30±0.03 sec] and ↑ CON [pre: 0.31±0.04 sec; post: 0.32±0.03 sec] (p=.02; η2=0.05). No differences in the contact phase, kick return time, and total kick time between WBV and CON. No effect for the moments No interactions between the conditions (WBV vs. CON) and moments (pre-vs. post-test) for any of the variables. |
| Muay Thai | |||||
| Brown et al. [22] |
17 male experienced Muay Thai fighters. Age: 25.3±3.6 years old. A minimum of 2 years competitive experience |
PAP exercise consisted of 4 squat repetitions to maximum effort. Without Control condition |
2, 5, or 8 min |
Striking a PowerKube (impact power produced (Watts) for the roundhouse and Teep kick techniques |
Roundhouse striking ↑ Impact Power by 20.7% at 5-min, and 30.4% at 8-min (r=0.6 [large effect]; p≤.01). Teep kick ↑Impact Power by 13.5% at 2-min (r=0.27 [small effect]; 30.2% at 5-min (r=0.49 [moderate effect]; p≤.01), and by 37.2% at 8-min (r=0.6 [large effect]; p≤.01). |
| Taekwondo | |||||
| Santos et al. [24] |
11 black-belt taekwondo athletes (8 international, 1 national, 2 state level). Age: 20.3±5.2 years. Practice time: 9.6±7.2 years. |
Experimental conditions Strength - half-squat:3×1 repetition at 95% 1RM/3-min rest interval between sets; Plyometric jumps: 3×10 vertical jumps (40-cm)/30-sec rest interval; Comple×exercise (half-squat + jumps): 3×2 repetitions at 95% 1RM +4 vertical jumps/3-min rest interval CON: rest 2 min after general warm-up Randomly (conditioning activities and rest intervals). |
5-, 10-minute, or self-selected rest (SSR) | Frequency Speed of Kick Test (FSKT) - 10 sec - maximal number of turning kick (bandal tchagui), alternating legs, minimum impact: 34±3 arbitrary unit (weight category and gender). |
FSKT ↑Number of kicks for Comple×condition at 10-min×CON (p=.026), strength SSR (p=.015), and plyometric 5-min (p<.001). Impact general: ns RPR before ↓ plyometric 5-min×CON (p=.019). |
| Ouergui et al. [25] |
27 young taekwondo athletes at regional level and national (14 males and 13 females) Age: 16±1 years Taekwondo experience: 7±1 years |
6 experimental conditions: Plyometrics (P): 3×jumps (both lower limbs together) over obstacle of 40 cm for 5 sec Repeated high-intensity techniques (RHIT): 3×alternative kicks—bandal-chagui— over 5 sec Using three different work-to-rest ratios (WRR): 1:6, 1:7, and self-selected rest time (SSRT) CON: 2 min rest after general warm-up |
10 min | Taekwondo specific agility test (TSAT), 10 sec frequency speed kick test (FSKT-10s), multiple frequency speed kick test (FSKT-mult). |
FSKT-10 sec ↑number of kicks P1:7 and SSRT×CON (p<.001) TSAT ↓time (improved agility performance) P 1:7 and PL SSRT×CON (p<.01) FSKT-mult ↑Total number of kicks RHIT 1:6, RHIT SSRT, P 1:7, and PL SSRT compared to CON (p<.001) ↓ decrement inde×(DI) RHIT1:6 (5.6%) X CON (8.9%), RHIT1:7 (8.5%), P1:6 (8.7%), and P SSRT (8.4%) (p<.05) |
| Ouergui et al. [26] |
21 taekwondo athletes (males: 13) Age: 20.4±1.4 Training experience: ≥5 years |
Repeated high intensity techniques (RT): 3×5 sec alternate kicks Plyometric (P): 3×5 sec vertical jumps 40 cm. CON: standard warm-up + 2 min of rest 12 experimental conditions: rest interval, effort to pause ratios (1:6, 1:9 and self-selected rest) |
3 and 7 min | Taekwondo specific agility test (TSAT) and FSKT mult: 5×10 sec frequency speed of kick test (FSKT-10s) |
No difference between RT and P for specific tests, only for rest pauses TSAT ↓ time (improve performance) RT 1:6, 1:9 and SSR ratio using 3 min (p<.05), 7 min (p<.001)×CON time P 1:9 and SSR ratios using 3 min (p≤.005), and 7 min of rest (p≤.001)×CON FSKT10s ↑ number of kicks RT 1:9 and SSR ratio using 3 min of rest (p<.05), and 1:6 and SSR at 7 min of rest (p≤.001)×CON ↑number of kicks P 1:9 and SSR ratios using 3 min of rest (p<.05)×CON FSKT mult ↑ Total number of kicks RT condition with 1:6 and SSR ratio using 3 min of rest (p<.05), and 1:6 at 7 min of rest (p=.03)×CON ↑Total number of kicks P SSR ratios using 3 min of rest (p=.024)×CON |
| Grappling combat sports | |||||
| Judo | |||||
| Miarka et al. [27] |
8 male judo athletes, brown-belt, at state-level competitions Age: 19±1 years Judo practice: 6±1 years |
Plyometric (P): 10×3 consecutive jumps (20, 40, and 60 cm). Maximum Strength: 5×1 repetition at 95% (2-min interval between series). Comple×exercises consisted of 3 squat series with 2 repetitions (with 90% maximum load) + 5 horizontal jumps with legs together (2-min rest intervals) CON: rest 30 min before SJFT |
3 min | Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT) |
SJFT Serie A ↑number of throws P×CON (p<.01) Heart rate ↑P×Comple×exercise (p<.05) Index ↓Complex×CON and P (p<.01) |
| Lum [28] |
11 male judo athletes Age: 16-29 years. Trained in judo: more than 2 years (8 international level, 3 as top 3 at national junior tournament) |
Upper and lower body PAP (ULB): ½ volume of usual precompetition warm-up + 2×5 resistance band pull at maximal effort + 2×5 standing broad jump Lower body PAP (LB): ½ volume of usual precompetition warm-up +3×5 standing broad jump 1 min recovery period between each set CON: usual the prefight warm-up |
5-min for High-Pull Test (HPT)+2-min for SJFT | SJFT |
SJFT Serie A ↑number of throws LB and ULB×CON (p≤.05; ES: 0.6 and 0.7) Total ↑number of throws ULB×CON (p<.01; ES: 0.5) HPT ↑power (W) ULB×CON (p<.01, ES: 0,1) RPE ↓ LB and ULB×CON (p<.01; ES: 1.2 and 1.5) |
| Eken et al. [30] |
10 female judo athletes, international-level competitions Age: 18.5±1.0 years-old Judo practice: ≥5 years |
Specific warm up (SWU): 5 min jogging+ 10 min 11 Judo-specific warm-up exercises Linear + Lateral warm up (FWU): 5 min jogging +10 min. Linear and lateral warm-up exercise (30:30s work:rest) - stationary spider-man, inchworm, backward and forward lunge walks, backpedal, straight-leg skip, heel-ups, and high knee run No-specific warm-up (NWU/CON): 15 min jogging 50% HHR |
No interval | Uchikomi Fitness Test (UFT) |
UFT ↑ total scores SWU and FWU×NWU/CON (p<.001) ↑ total scores SWU×FWU (p=.006). UFT a+b ↑ number of repetitions SWU×NWU/CON and FWU (p<.001). Time of day ↑ number of repetitions at evening×morning (p=.04). HR average FWU×NWU/CON (p=.001) ↓ SWU×NWU/CON (p=.09) ↓ SWU×FWU (p=.002) |
| Hina et al. [29] |
21 athletes - 14 females (age=16.5±0.8 years) - 9 males (age=17.0±0.9 years) Judo practice: Minimum of 4 years. Regional and National level competition |
Experimental Conditioning activity replaced 50% of the total repetitions in the judo-specific warm-up LB - Lower body 3×6 SBJ 30 sec inter set rest UB - Upper body - 3×10 sec ISO push-up 30 sec inter set rest ULB Combined - 3×3×SBJ + 5 sec ISO push-up 30 sec inter set rest CON: General and judo-specific exercises |
1 min | Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT) |
SJFT ↑ number of throws UB×CON (Set A: p=.031, g=0.42 [small]; Set B: p=.016, g=0.49 [small]; Set C: p=.003, g=0.79 [moderate], Total: p<.001, g=0.67 [moderate]) ↑ number of throws LB×CON (Set A: p=.002, g=0.82 [moderate]; Set B: p=.002, g=0.78 [moderate]; Set C: p=.031, g=0.70 [moderate], Total: p<.001, g=0.91 [moderate]) ↑ number of throws ULB×CON (Set A: p<.001, g=1.21 [large]; Set B: p<.001, g=0.78[moderate]; Set C: p=.002, g=0.98 [moderate]; Total: p<.001, g=1.11 [moderate]) ↑ number of throws ULB×UB (Set A, p=.002, g=0.65 [moderate]; Total: p<.001, g=0.42 [small]) HR after SJFT ↓bpm UB×CON (p=.014, g=0.50 [small]) ↓ bpm UB×ULB (p=.001, g=0.62 [moderate]) HR one min after ↓UB (p=.001, g=0.72 - 0.83 [moderate]) and LB (p=.002 – .008, g=0.71 - 0.82 [moderate])×ULB or CON SJFT index ↓inde×(better performance) UB×CON (p<.001, g=0.88 [moderate]) ↓ inde×LB×CON (p<.001, g=0.98 [moderate]) ↓ inde×ULB×CON (p<.001, g=0.94 [moderate]) |
CA, Conditioning Activity; NoCA, No-Conditioning Activity; ER, Elastic Resistance; ISO, Isometric; MVC, Maximal Voluntary Contraction; RFD, Rate of Force Development; SWC, Smallest Worthwhile Change; S:N, Signal-to-Noise Ratio; ES, Effect Size; BSEP, Boxing-Specific Exercise Protocol; BE, Ballistic Exercise; 1RM, One-repetition Maximum; HRE, Heavy-Resistance Exercise; PF (N), Punch Force (Newtons); PS (m/s), Punch Speed; PP (W), Punch Power (Watts); 3MTP, 3-min Punch Test; 10VL, 10% Velocity Loss; 20VL, 20% Velocity Loss; CON, Control, usually with a standardized warm-up; RFD Rate of Force Development; WBV, Whole-Body Vibration; NWBV, Control Without WBV; RPR, Rating of Perceived Recovery Scale; P, Plyometrics; RHIT/RT, Repeated High-Intensity Techniques; WRR Work-to-Rest Ratios; SSRT/SSR, Self-Selected Rest Time; DI, Decrement Index; PL, Placebo; CAF, Caffeine; FSKT, Frequency Speed of Kick Test; TSA, Taekwondo Specific Agility Test; ULB, Upper- and Lower-Body; LB, Lower-Body; UP, Upper body; HPT, High-Pull Test; RPE, Rate of Perceived Exertion; SJFT, Special Judo Fitness Test; UFT, Uchikomi Fitness Test; SBJ, standing broad jump; NWU, No Warm-Up; SWU, Specific Warm-Up; LWU, Linear+Lateral Warm-Up; KER, Kicking with Elastic Resistance.
1) Striking combat sports
Most of the studies selected investigated striking combat sports, likely due to the powerful nature of actions in these modalities, which are similar in terms of duration to other tasks used in PAPE studies (e.g., squat jump, countermovement jump, ballistic exercises, etc.).
The studies investigating boxing [17-20] used different conditioning activities, making a comparison between them difficult, except for the studies from Finlay et al. [17,20], which used elastic resistance bands and isometric actions in their investigations. Finlay et al. [17,20] did not find significant interactions between the conditioning activities and time, both found an effect of time, with peak and average punch force increasing with time for all punches, except for the jab. Nonetheless, authors presented additional analyses (smallest worthwhile change, effect size, signal-to-noise ratio) in Finlay et al. [17] indicating that isometric actions elicited small-to-moderate improvements in punch force and rate of force development, while elastic resistance band presented minor improvements, without meaningful changes in control. Yi et al. [18] also did not find significant interactions between the conditioning activities and time, and found an effect of time, indicating that punch force and punch speed were higher at 9-min compared with baseline assessment for both ballistic and heavy-resistance exercise. However, in this study there was no control condition. Cui et al. [19], analyzing both sides (dominant and non-dominant), reported significant group and time interactions for punch speed. In the dominant side, with higher values at the 8-minute and 12-minute in the 20% velocity loss threshold, whereas the non-dominant side speed was increased most at the 8-minute and 12-minute in the 10% velocity loss threshold compared to the baseline. Therefore, using velocity loss seems a promising approach to improve boxing-related performance.
Regarding kicking techniques, combat sports-specific roundhouse techniques have been the most investigated kick type (e.g., mawashi-geri in karate, bandal-tchagui in taekwondo) either in isolation [21-23] or as part of a test involving a single all-out effort or multiple high-intensity intermittent efforts [15,24-26].
Brown et al. [22] reported increased power impact 5 minutes and 8 minutes after the conditioning activity (4RM squat) for both the roundhouse and teep kicking techniques compared to the baseline measurement performed two days before the experimental conditions. When a single mawashi-geri was assessed, whole body vibration did not affect impact force or impulse, but resulted in a shorter attack phase time compared with a control condition, even though no interaction effect was detected between condition and moment [23]. Aandahl et al. [21] compared conditioning activities involving kicking with or without elastic resistance and reported an increased linear velocity of the foot's toe and knee during the execution of the roundhouse kick executed by kickboxers and taekwondo athletes in the elastic resistance condition compared with the condition without it. They also observed an earlier occurrence of hip rotation and a later occurrence of the maximal knee extension in the elastic band condition compared with the no elastic band condition. The use of the elastic band also resulted in a higher electromyographic activity of the rectus femoris compared with the condition without its utilization.
A series of studies investigating the effects of different conditioning activity in taekwondo used the frequency of speed kick test (FSKT10s; 10s all-out bandal-tchagui execution), the multiple version of the frequency of speed kick test (FSKTmult; 5×10s all-out bandal-tchagui execution interspersed by 10s intervals), and the taekwondo specific agility test (TSAT) [15,24-26].
The seminal study conducted by Santos et al. [24] submitted taekwondo athletes to one control and nine experimental conditions. The control condition was used to determine baseline performance. After a 5-min-ute standardized warm-up (treadmill running at 9 km/hr), participants rested for 2 minutes, and then performed one of the following conditioning activities: (a) Half-squat: 3 sets of 1 repetition at 95% of 1RM, with 3-minute rest intervals; (b) Jumps: 3 sets of 10 vertical jumps (40 cm), with 30-second rest intervals; (c) Complex exercise (half-squat+ jumps): 3 sets of 2 repetitions at 95% of 1RM followed by 4 vertical jumps, with 3-minute rest intervals. Before executing the performance tests rest intervals of 5 or 10 minutes, or self-selected durations were applied. A greater number of kicks during the FSKT10s was performed in the strength-plus-plyometric condition with a 10-minute rest interval, compared to the control, the strength-only condition with self-selected rest, and the plyometric-only condition with a 5-minute interval.
Over the years, a crescent interest occurred regarding the use of taekwondo-specific actions as conditioning activity. To investigate this aspect, Ouergui et al. [25] investigated the use of plyometric exercise and repeated high-intensity taekwondo techniques on FSKT10s, FSKTmult, and the TSAT performances in comparison to a control condition. The plyometric exercise involved three 5-second sets of consecutive vertical jumps as fast as possible over 40-cm obstacles or repeated high-intensity techniques, with each of these conditioning activities being executed using different work-to-rest ratios, specifically 1:6 (5 s/30 s), 1:7 (5 s/35 s) and self-selected ratio (5 s/self-selected time) with athletes per-forming the maximum number of repetitions during each set. The taekwondo-specific performance tests were executed 10 minutes after the different conditioning activities. The control condition involved a warm-up composed of 10 minutes running at 9 km/h. For the FSKT10s a higher number of kicks was observed in the plyometric 1:7 and self-selected rest interval compared to the control condition, whereas for the FSKTmult the repeated high-intensity technique using 1:6 and self-selected rest interval ratios, and the plyometric using 1:7 and self-selected ratio resulted in higher number of kicks compared to the control condition. Additionally, the decrement index in the FSKTmult was also affected by the conditioning activities, with lower values achieved in the repeated high-intensity technique using the 1:6 ratio condition compared with the control, repeated high-intensity technique using the 1:7 ratio, plyometric using 1:6 and self-selected ratios. Time in the TSAT was shorter in the plyometric using 1:7 and self-selected ratios in comparison with the control condition. Therefore, different conditioning activities can distinctly affect taekwondo-specific performance, indicating that coaches should be cautious when selecting the conditioning activity to improve the desired performance variable.
To advance the understanding of the use of different work-to-rest ratios and intervals between the conditioning activity and the taekwondo-specific performance. Ouergui et al. [26] compared the 1:6, 1:9 and self-selected ratios, and used 3 and 7 minutes of interval, utilizing both the plyometric and repeated high-intensity technique conditioning activities and taekwondo-specific tests investigated in their previous study, as well as the control condition involving the regular warm-up [25]. They did not observe any difference between the two conditioning activities in the taekwondo-specific performances, but reported an effect of intervals between the conditioning activities and the performance tests. Specifically, for the TSAT, a significant decrease in time was observed for the conditions repeated high-intensity technique using all the ratios (i.e., 1:6, 1:9 and self-selected) and for both intervals between the conditioning activity and the performance test (i.e., 3 and 7 min) and the control condition, and in the plyometric exercise using the 1:9 and self-selected ratios, with 3 and 7 minutes intervals compared with the control condition. For the FSKT10s a higher number of repetitions was found in the repeated high-intensity technique using the 1:9 and self-selected ratios with 3 minutes interval between the conditioning activity and the test, and in the repeated high-intensity technique with 1:6 and self-selected ratios with 7 minutes intervals, and in the plyometric conditioning activity with 1:9 and self-selected ratios using 3 minutes intervals conditions compared to the control condition. For the FSKTmult a higher total number of kicks was executed in the repeated high-intensity technique with the 1:6 ratio with both intervals (i.e., 3 and 7 min) and in the self-selected ratio with 3 minutes interval compared to the control condition, and in plyometric with self-selected ratio and 3 minutes interval compared to the control condition. Therefore, performance improved in all tests when the conditioning activities were used compared to the control condition. More-over, the 3 minutes favored the utilization of plyometric exercise as conditioning activity independently of the work-to-rest ratio used in this exercise, whereas the 7 minutes interval was more prone to improve the repeated high-intensity technique as conditioning activity, especially for the 1:6 and 1:9 work-to-rest ratios. Therefore, depending on the planning of the training session - especially concerning the interval between the conditioning activity and the main task -, coaches can select a different conditioning activity to improve performance in the main task.
Taken together, the available evidence indicates that PAPE responses in striking combat sports are highly dependent on the interaction between the conditioning activity, the recovery interval, and the specificity of the subsequent performance task. In boxing, results are mixed, with velocity-loss based resistance protocols showing some promise for enhancing punch force and speed, whereas isometric or elastic resistance-based activities did not consistently outperform control conditions. For kicking techniques, traditional strength-oriented protocols such as squats and plyometrics appear to facilitate subsequent performance when adequate intervals (5–10 min) are provided, while combat-specific preparatory actions (e.g., resisted or repeated high-intensity kicks) offer more consistent and transferable benefits to sport-specific tests. Evidence from taekwondo is particularly robust, showing that both plyometric and sport-specific high-intensity conditioning activities can acutely enhance performance in repeated-kick and agility tests, with shorter intervals (≈3 min) favoring plyometric activities and longer ones (≈7–10 min) better supporting repeated high-intensity techniques. Overall, these findings suggest that PAPE in striking combat sports is most effective when conditioning activities are biomechanically and metabolically aligned with the target task, and when recovery intervals are tailored to the type of activity and desired performance outcome.
2) Grappling combat sports
To the authors’ knowledge, the first study to investigate the use of conditioning activity on combat-sport specific performance was conducted in judo (Miarka et al., 2011). However, since this study was published not many others were conducted with grappling combat sports. Indeed, so far the main investigations were conducted with judo athletes and used the Special Judo Fitness Test (SJFT) as the judo-specific performance assessment tool [27-29] or the Uchi-Komi Fitness Test (UFT) [30]. As observed with striking combat sports, the investigations with judo also applied a multitude of conditioning activities.
Miarka et al. [27] compared the performance in the SJFT in a control condition (no warm-up, resting for 30 min) with performance after different conditioning activities involving plyometric, maximum strength, and a combination of plyometric and maximum strength. Briefly, the plyometric condition was constituted by 10 series of 3 consecutive jumps stepping off an elevated surface, landing as fast as possible, and executing a maximal vertical jump, with 30 seconds intervals between sets. Increasing heights were used, starting with 20 cm, then 40 cm, and finalizing with 60 cm. The maximum strength condition involved 5 sets of 1 repetition at 95% of 1RM for the squat exercise, with 2-minute interval between sets. The contrast conditioning activity was constituted by combined exercises consisted of 3 sets of 2 repetitions at 90% of 1RM for the squat exercise, followed by 5 horizontal jumps with legs together and 2-minute rest intervals between sets. The interval between the conditioning activities and the SJFT was fixed in 3 minutes. The only difference found was a higher number of throws in the first set of the SJT following the plyometric conditioning activity compared with the control condition. Therefore, using this kind of conditioning activity and interval resulted in a short-lasting effect, given that the first set of the SJFT is 15 seconds long.
Lum [28] compared the performance in the SJFT after a usual warm-up routine, with either a lower-body or an upper- and lower-body conditioning activity. The usual warm-up was constituted of 5 minutes of jogging (self-paced), 5 minutes of dynamic stretches for the main major muscle groups, 10 repetitions of front, back, side, and rolling break fall drills (ukemi-waza), 2 sets of 10 repetitions of technique entrance (uchi-komi), 2 sets of 10 repetitions of fast-paced uchi-komi, 2 set of 1 minute of grip dispute (kumi-kata) and 2 sets of 10 repetitions of throwing technique drill (nage-komi). The lower-body conditioning activity included the same warm-up routine but using half of the sets for the judo-specific exercises, had 1 minute interval, followed by 3 sets of 5 standing long jump repetitions, with 1 minute between sets. The upper- and lower-body conditioning activity was also preceded by the usual warm-up with half of the sets for judo the judo-specific exercises, had 1 minute interval, followed by 2 sets of 5 repetitions of judo-specific resistance band pull exercise with 1 minute interval between sets, and 2 sets of 5 repetitions of standing long jump repetitions with 1 minute interval between sets. The interval between these conditions and the SJFT was 7 minutes, with a non-specific exercise (high-pull test) performed 2 minutes before the judo-specific task. Both the lower-body and the upper- and lower-body conditioning activities resulted in increased number of throws during the first set of the SJFT compared with the control condition, whereas the total number of throws was also increased in the upper- and lower-body condition compared with the control condition. Therefore, judo-specific performance can be improved by using simple tasks such as long broad jump and elastic band pull exercises as conditioning activities, tasks that can be easily performed either in the training or in the competition contexts.
Following the idea of using simple tasks as conditioning activities, Hina et al. [29] investigated the effects of a traditional warm-up protocol, a lower-body contrast exercise, a upper-body contrast exercise and a combined contrast exercise. The general protocol (C) involved 5 minutes of jogging, 5 minutes of stretching and judo-specific as described by Lum [28], cited above. For the contrast exercise protocols, the conditioning exercises replaced half of the total judo-specific warm-up of the traditional protocol. Then, for the lower-body protocol (LB), athletes executed 3 sets of 6 standing broad jumps with 30 s intervals between sets, for the upper-body protocol (UB), they performed isometric hold push-ups (3 sets of 10 sec with 30 sec intervals between sets), and for combined contrast protocol (ULB) they executed 3 sets of 3 standing broad jumps followed by 5 seconds isometric-hold push ups, with 30 sec intervals between sets. The SJFT was executed 1 minute after each protocol. The main findings of this study were higher number of throws in each set - and sum of throws in these sets - of the SJFT for the LB, UB, and ULB compared with the control warm-up, and higher number of throws in set A and total number of throws were achieved in the ULB compared with UB. Heart rate values immediately after the SJFT were lower in the UB compared to control, whereas higher values were registered in the ULB condition compared with the UB. Heart rate values 1 minutes after the SJFT were lower in the UB and LB compared to the ULB and control conditions. Consequently, the SJFT index values were lower (i.e., better) in the UB, LB, and ULB conditions compared with the control warm-up. The authors also indicated that a large effect was found for the set A of the SJFT. Therefore, easily executed protocols can improve judo-specific performance, especially in the first set of the SJFT, even when a short interval (i.e., 1 minute) is used.
The only study to use another judo-specific test was also the only one to have exclusively female athletes as subjects [30]. These authors compared three conditions. The first involved 15 minutes of light jogging (NWU/CON), the second (SWU) involved 5 minutes light jogging and 10 minutes of 11 exercises (foot sweeps, finger wrist and ankle rotations, trunk side stretch, trunk rotator stretch, hip circles, knee bends, cart-wheels both sides, forwards rolls, backwards rolls, forward rolls with legs spread and backwards roll with legs spread), whereas the third was denominated linear+lateral warm-up (FWU) and involved 5 minutes of jogging and 10 minutes executing different exercises (stationary spider-man, 30 sec work–30 sec rest; inchworm, 30 sec work–30 sec rest; backward and forward lunge walks, 2×30 sec work–30 sec rest; backpedal, 30 sec work–30 sec rest; straight-leg skip, 30 sec work–30 sec rest; heel-ups, 2×30 sec work–30 sec rest; and high knee run, 2×30 sec work–30 sec rest). The UFT was executed after each of these warm-up conditions. Additionally, they had these procedures executed at morning and evening. In general, number of repetitions was higher and heart rate was lower at evening compared to morning, but there was no interaction effect between time of the day and warm-up protocol. Of interest for this review is the fact that the results of the UFT total score indicated an effect of condition, with statistically significant higher values for the SWU compared with the other two, whereas the FWU also resulted in higher scores than the NWU. The average heart rate during the UFT was lower in the SWU compared to the FWU and NWU protocols. Therefore, the most specific warm-up protocol was more beneficial for improving performance in the UFT.
Thus, the available evidence suggests that PAPE in judo - the only grappling combat sport investigated using sport-specific tasks - is consistently effective when simple and easily applied conditioning activities are used before the performance tasks. Across three studies employing the SJFT, both plyometric and contrast-type activities (lower-body, upper-body, or combined) produced acute improvements in the number of throws, particularly in the first set (A), even with short intervals ranging from 1 to 7 minutes. These findings indicate that muscle power-dependent tasks such as broad jumps and resistance band pulls may provide sufficient neuromuscular stimulation to enhance judo-specific performance without requiring complex or fatiguing protocols, making them applicable to both training and competition settings. By contrast, the study using the UFT showed that a more specific warm-up involving dynamic judo-related exercises yielded superior performance compared to general or less targeted routines, underlining the importance of specificity when the performance task differs from the SJFT, at least based on this single study.
2. Final remarks and practical recommendations
Based on the articles included in this narrative review, it seems that PAPE effects depend on the choice of conditioning activity, the interval before the main task, and the specificity of performance to be enhanced. However, as only few studies were conducted so far and they differed in the above mentioned aspects, more research is needed to direct the best interventions to optimize combat sports athletes’ performance. Thus, considering this limitation and the available investigations, the following can be proposed to maximize the PAPE effect (Fig. 1):
(1) Striking combat sports - it is recommended the use muscle power-related lower-body tasks (e.g., squats, jumps) or sport-specific resisted kicks to potentiate kicking performance; for punches, velocity-loss based resistance training shows promise, while isometric or elastic-band protocols may be less reliable; regarding the interval between the conditioning activity and the main task, ∼3 minutes often favors plyometric activities, while 7–10 minutes intervals may better support repeated high-intensity sport-specific techniques; it is important to match conditioning activities to the desired outcome (e.g., agility, repeated effort, single explosive action) based on the findings described in isolated studies, until it would be possible to conduct meta-analysis;
(2) Grappling combat sports - conditioning activities such as broad jumps, resistance band pulls, or contrast exercises reliably improve SJFT performance, especially in the first set (A); short intervals (1 minute) seem sufficient to induce benefits without excessive fatigue, and the PAPE effect may last up to 7 minutes (even though studies with longer intervals are needed to set the upper limit); when using tests or tasks other than SJFT, prioritize specific warm-ups incorporating judo-related drills (e.g., ukemi-waza, uchi-komi, nage-komi, mobility and grip exercises) to maximize transfer; prioritize simple and accessible protocols that can be integrated into pre-training and pre-competition routines.
PDF Links
PubReader
ePub Link
XML Download
Full text via DOI
Download Citation 
Print 
