Effects of Resistance Exercise Timing on Midday Muscle Performance in Athletes

NCT07843199 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: MCBU_PAPE_2025
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 13
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study investigated whether the timing of a resistance-based post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) intervention performed during the morning influences muscle performance and muscle electrical activity during a standardized midday assessment in trained male athletes. Participants completed a control condition and three PAPE conditions performed at different times during the morning. The PAPE intervention consisted of back squat, kettlebell swing, and barbell hip thrust exercises. In all conditions, muscle performance was assessed between 12:00 and 12:15 using an isokinetic dynamometer, while surface electromyography (sEMG) of the rectus femoris muscle was recorded. The study compared relative peak torque and sEMG spectral power across the different PAPE timing conditions and the control condition.

Conditions

Neuromuscular Performance; Post-Activation Performance Enhancement (PAPE)

Keywords

Time of Day; spectral power; Midday performance

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Relative Peak Torque (RPT)

  Relative peak torque (RPT) was determined from the highest peak torque value obtained during four maximal knee extension repetitions performed on an isokinetic dynamometer at 60°·s-¹. Peak torque was normalized to body mass and expressed as N·m·kg-¹.

  Measured once per condition (control, T1, T2, T3) at a fixed assessment time (12:00-12:15 PM). PAPE was performed 3.5 hours (T1), 1.5 hours (T2), or immediately (T3) before assessment. Each condition was separated by at least 48 hours.

• Rectus Femoris sEMG Spectral Power

  Surface electromyography (sEMG) of the rectus femoris muscle was recorded during the maximal isokinetic knee extension repetitions. Spectral power was calculated from the processed sEMG signal using fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis and expressed as µV²/Hz.

  Measured once per condition (control, T1, T2, T3) at a fixed assessment time (12:00-12:15 PM). PAPE was performed 3.5 hours (T1), 1.5 hours (T2), or immediately (T3) before assessment. Each condition was separated by at least 48 hours.

Study Arms (4)

Control (C)

NO INTERVENTION

Participants completed the standardized midday isokinetic performance assessment without a PAPE intervention. The assessment consisted of four maximal repetitions on an isokinetic dynamometer at 60°·s-¹ between 12:00 and 12:15, while rectus femoris surface electromyography was recorded.

PAPE T1

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants performed the standardized PAPE intervention between 08:00 and 09:00 before the midday performance assessment. The PAPE intervention consisted of back squat, kettlebell swing, and barbell hip thrust exercises, with one set of six repetitions at 80% of the individual estimated one-repetition maximum (e1RM) for each exercise and a 1-minute rest interval between exercises. The intervention was preceded by a 5-minute cycling warm-up at 60 rpm and 5 minutes of passive rest.

Behavioral: Resistance-Based PAPE Intervention

PAPE T2

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants performed the standardized PAPE intervention between 10:00 and 11:00 before the midday performance assessment. The PAPE intervention consisted of back squat, kettlebell swing, and barbell hip thrust exercises, with one set of six repetitions at 80% of the individual estimated one-repetition maximum (e1RM) for each exercise and a 1-minute rest interval between exercises. The intervention was preceded by a 5-minute cycling warm-up at 60 rpm and 5 minutes of passive rest.

Behavioral: Resistance-Based PAPE Intervention

PAPE T3

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants performed the standardized PAPE intervention between 11:45 and 12:00 before the midday performance assessment. The PAPE intervention consisted of back squat, kettlebell swing, and barbell hip thrust exercises, with one set of six repetitions at 80% of the individual estimated one-repetition maximum (e1RM) for each exercise and a 1-minute rest interval between exercises. The intervention was preceded by a 5-minute cycling warm-up at 60 rpm and 5 minutes of passive rest.

Behavioral: Resistance-Based PAPE Intervention

Interventions

Resistance-Based PAPE Intervention BEHAVIORAL

The resistance-based PAPE intervention consisted of three exercises performed in the following order: back squat, kettlebell swing, and barbell hip thrust. Participants performed one set of six repetitions at 80% of their individual estimated one-repetition maximum (e1RM) for each exercise, with a 1-minute rest interval between exercises. The intervention was preceded by a 5-minute standardized cycling warm-up at 60 rpm followed by 5 minutes of passive rest. The same PAPE protocol was performed in the T1, T2, and T3 conditions at different times before the standardized midday performance assessment.

PAPE T1; PAPE T2; PAPE T3

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Regularly participating in systematic sport-specific training (minimum training age of 3 years)
• Able to comply with pre-testing restrictions (avoidance of intense physical activity for 72 hours and caffeine for 2 hours prior to testing sessions)

You may not qualify if:

• Any musculoskeletal, orthopedic, or health condition preventing safe participation in maximal isokinetic exercise testing
• Current or recent injury affecting lower-limb strength or performance testing

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Manisa Celal Bayar University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Manisa Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Sport Sciences

Manisa, 45040, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: All participants completed four experimental conditions (control, T1, T2, and T3) in a randomized order, with at least 48 hours between conditions. The performance assessment was conducted between 12:00 and 12:15 in all conditions.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 15, 2026
• First Posted: September 25, 2026
• Study Start: June 3, 2025
• Primary Completion: August 20, 2025
• Study Completion: September 15, 2025
• Last Updated: September 25, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)