EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT ANTAGONIST PROTOCOLS ON REPETITION PERFORMANCE AND MUSCLE ACTIVATION

Objective: To investigate the acute effects of different antagonist manipulation protocols on maximal repetition performance and muscle activation during seated row (SR) exercise. Methods: Fifteen men (22.4 ± 1.1 years old, height 175 cm ± 5.5, weight 76.6 kg ± 7, and 12.3 ± 2.1 of body fat percentage) with previous resistance training experience (3.5 ± 1.2 years) performed four experimental protocols: (TP) one set to repetition failure of SR exercise; (AS) Antagonist static stretching for the pectoralis major (PM) followed by one set of SR; (PNFA) Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation for PM followed by one set of the SR; (APS) One set of the bench press with a 10 RM loads followed by one set of the SR. The maximal repetitions and the electromyographic (EMG) signal were recorded for the latissimus dorsi (LD), biceps brachii (BB), triceps brachii lateral head (TL), and PM during the SR. Results: A significant increase in SR repetition performance was noted for the APS (14 ± 1) versus the TP (9 ± 1.2, P = 0.0001), PNFA (10 ± 1.5, P = 0.001), and AS (12 ± 1.5, P = 0.004) protocols. A significant increase in SR repetitions was also noted for the AS versus the TP (P = 0.001) and PNFA (P = 0.002) protocols. The muscle activation of the BB and LD were significantly higher during the APS and AS versus the PNFA and TP sessions. Conclusions: These results suggest that either using the APS or AS approaches can facilitate an increase in SR repetition performance versus traditional resistance exercise sets.