What do you typically have your athletes do on the morning of an afternoon or evening competition? Some coaches prefer to let their players rest, while others may hold film sessions or very low intensity walk-through sessions. Very rarely will you see teams perform lifts or repeated sprints on the day of the game. In fact, most coaches are vehemently opposed to this type of work in fear of creating too much fatigue before the big match. However, as more research is being published, the results may be counter-intuitive to many coaches. It appears that performing morning work-outs may have a “priming” effect on subsequent performance later on that day.
A new study published ahead of print in the International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance provides a pretty compelling case for morning priming sessions to enhance evening performance. Fifteen professional male rugby players performed in a randomized, counter-balanced manner, 4 different priming sessions in the morning followed by performance testing (i.e., vertical jump, reaction time and repeated sprint ability) 5 hours later in the afternoon. Additionally, salivary testosterone was measured in the morning and afternoon of each session. All protocols were separated by 5-7 days. The 4 protocols consisted of a control condition (i.e., passive rest); resistance training (5×10 bench press with 75% 1RM); running sprints (6×40 m with a change of direction and 20 s rest between sprints); and cycle intervals (6×6 s at 7.5% bodyweight and 54 s rest between sprints).
The results showed that testosterone decreased the most in the afternoon following the control session while the running and bench press sessions were the most effective at attenuating the diurnal decline in salivary testosterone. In addition, the running and bench press groups saw faster sprint times on their repeat sprint test. Vertical jump height was improved by morning running and cycling, but not by bench press or passive rest. No differences were observed among groups for reaction time.
This study demonstrates that a brief workout of sprints or resistance training can prevent the diurnal decrease in free testosterone and concomitantly enhance performance variables in elite, team-sport athletes. Passive rest was the least effective condition, but yet is the most popular pre-game activity among sports teams. As the evidence supporting “priming” sessions prior to competitions continues to grow, we’ll likely see a shift in many teams pre-game training strategies. Brief workouts consisting of sprints or resistance training appears to have an ergogenic effect on subsequent performance ~5 hours later.
Reference:
Russell, Mark., et al. (2015) A Comparison of Different Modes of Morning Priming Exercise on Afternoon Performance. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. Ahead of print.
