Post-Activation Potential (PAP) Exercises to Make You More Explosive and Agile
Post-activation potential (PAP) has recently become increasingly popular among strength coaches and trainers. Post-activation potential is a training technique that boosts, enhances, and maximizes athletic performance. As a result, you can reach higher levels of strength, speed, explosiveness, and power.
Post-activation potential will help you discover a powerful athletic version of yourself to achieve elite performance.
Learn how to unlock your hidden strength potential.
How Post-Activation Potential Works
Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) is a phenomenon that makes your muscles more explosive, faster, and agile. To activate PAP, you must lift a heavy load between 85-90% of your one-rep max. This heavy load supercharges your nervous system and enables your muscles to absorb force, not dissipate it.
Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) effects are long-lasting, but the stimulation is only temporary. In other words, post-activation potential is a mechanism that must be activated to take effect. So, when I say temporary, you must activate it to use it, and then the effects will gradually diminish.
It is like video racing games; when you want to go faster, you hit the nitrous button, and BOOM, instant speed acceleration. Then it wears off, and you return to fast racing again. PAP is like that.
Training Methods for Post-Activation Potential
You can do oscillation, slow eccentric, or isometric pause reps, or agonist-antagonist exercises. Agonist Antagonist exercises work great for PAP with the upper body.
How to Activate Post-Activation Potential
Choose two exercises that match each other-one compound movement with a plyometric one—for example, back squats and vertical jumps.
First, you must follow the percentage and reps exactly. If you activate fatigue, post-activation potential will not happen. This is because the CNS will not highly potentiate due to fatigue factors. And GTOs will activate and cause the force to dissipate and not get absorbed in the muscles. Muscles must absorb force to activate PAP.
So, for the first exercise, you must only do 2-3 reps of your 5-rep max at 85% or one rep of your 3-rep max at 90%. Don’t do all the reps. Just stimulate.
After doing the first exercise, you can rest between 1-8 minutes before you do your explosive exercise second. The rest between the exercises depends on your sport’s demands and what you are training for.
Post-Activation Potential Exercises
Lower Body
- Back Squat- Vertical Jumps
- Right Leg Single Leg Squats- Speed Skater Right Leg Speed Focus (Then do the left side)
- Heavy Alternating Lunges- Speed Split Alternating Lunges
Upper Body
- Bench Press- Plyometric Pushup
- Heavy Back Rows Slow Eccentric- Lying Down Med Ball Throws
- Pull-ups – Lightweight Shoulder Presses for Speed (50% 1RM)
If you don’t have a plyometric movement for the second exercise, use a compound exercise with 20-30% of your 1RM.
Watch this video for more information on how to do the exercises.
Post-Activation Potential Research
One study showed that heavy back squats done for many sets using 90% of 1RM improved sprint times in college athletes when performed 5 minutes before their sprint trial.
Another study showed that performing back squats with a 3-rep max four to eight minutes before a vertical jump significantly increased their jump height.
Moreover, heavy barbell back squats performed at 85% of one rep max three minutes before repetitive squat jumps enhanced vertical jump height and ground reaction forces to repeat with the same force.
Furthermore, post-activation potentiation training dampens fatigue with repetitive explosive movements.
Post-Activation Potential Less Effective Methods
Post-activation potential is less effective when using dynamic warmups, bodyweight exercises, or resistance lower than 85% for the first exercise. Therefore, attempting to boost potentiation in this way will not be effective.
A study showed that using a low load at 50-55% of your 1RM performed 4 minutes before a vertical jump test had no change in vertical jump height. PAP was not stimulated.
The lighter the load, you will not stimulate enough.
With too high of a load above 90%, post-activation potential wears off and dissipates faster. Probably because of fatigue factors at higher maximal loads.
Lifting 85-90% is the perfect range and has longer-lasting effects.
It is essential to understand that the effects of post-activation potential are highly individualized. It all depends on how long you have been training and your strength. Therefore, your strength training plays a crucial factor in post-activation potential. Because the more force your muscles can produce, the greater your potentiation will be.
PAP is ideal to do before games and competitions.
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Post-Activation Potential (PAP) Exercises to Make You More Explosive and Agile
Post-activation potential (PAP) has recently become increasingly popular among strength coaches and trainers. Post-activation potential is a training technique that boosts, enhances, and maximizes athletic performance. As a result, you can reach higher levels of strength, speed, explosiveness, and power.
Post-activation potential will help you discover a powerful athletic version of yourself to achieve elite performance.
Learn how to unlock your hidden strength potential.
How Post-Activation Potential Works
Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) is a phenomenon that makes your muscles more explosive, faster, and agile. To activate PAP, you must lift a heavy load between 85-90% of your one-rep max. This heavy load supercharges your nervous system and enables your muscles to absorb force, not dissipate it.
Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) effects are long-lasting, but the stimulation is only temporary. In other words, post-activation potential is a mechanism that must be activated to take effect. So, when I say temporary, you must activate it to use it, and then the effects will gradually diminish.
It is like video racing games; when you want to go faster, you hit the nitrous button, and BOOM, instant speed acceleration. Then it wears off, and you return to fast racing again. PAP is like that.
Training Methods for Post-Activation Potential
You can do oscillation, slow eccentric, or isometric pause reps, or agonist-antagonist exercises. Agonist Antagonist exercises work great for PAP with the upper body.
How to Activate Post-Activation Potential
Choose two exercises that match each other-one compound movement with a plyometric one—for example, back squats and vertical jumps.
First, you must follow the percentage and reps exactly. If you activate fatigue, post-activation potential will not happen. This is because the CNS will not highly potentiate due to fatigue factors. And GTOs will activate and cause the force to dissipate and not get absorbed in the muscles. Muscles must absorb force to activate PAP.
So, for the first exercise, you must only do 2-3 reps of your 5-rep max at 85% or one rep of your 3-rep max at 90%. Don’t do all the reps. Just stimulate.
After doing the first exercise, you can rest between 1-8 minutes before you do your explosive exercise second. The rest between the exercises depends on your sport’s demands and what you are training for.
Post-Activation Potential Exercises
Lower Body
- Back Squat- Vertical Jumps
- Right Leg Single Leg Squats- Speed Skater Right Leg Speed Focus (Then do the left side)
- Heavy Alternating Lunges- Speed Split Alternating Lunges
Upper Body
- Bench Press- Plyometric Pushup
- Heavy Back Rows Slow Eccentric- Lying Down Med Ball Throws
- Pull-ups – Lightweight Shoulder Presses for Speed (50% 1RM)
If you don’t have a plyometric movement for the second exercise, use a compound exercise with 20-30% of your 1RM.
Watch this video for more information on how to do the exercises.
Post-Activation Potential Research
One study showed that heavy back squats done for many sets using 90% of 1RM improved sprint times in college athletes when performed 5 minutes before their sprint trial.
Another study showed that performing back squats with a 3-rep max four to eight minutes before a vertical jump significantly increased their jump height.
Moreover, heavy barbell back squats performed at 85% of one rep max three minutes before repetitive squat jumps enhanced vertical jump height and ground reaction forces to repeat with the same force.
Furthermore, post-activation potentiation training dampens fatigue with repetitive explosive movements.
Post-Activation Potential Less Effective Methods
Post-activation potential is less effective when using dynamic warmups, bodyweight exercises, or resistance lower than 85% for the first exercise. Therefore, attempting to boost potentiation in this way will not be effective.
A study showed that using a low load at 50-55% of your 1RM performed 4 minutes before a vertical jump test had no change in vertical jump height. PAP was not stimulated.
The lighter the load, you will not stimulate enough.
With too high of a load above 90%, post-activation potential wears off and dissipates faster. Probably because of fatigue factors at higher maximal loads.
Lifting 85-90% is the perfect range and has longer-lasting effects.
It is essential to understand that the effects of post-activation potential are highly individualized. It all depends on how long you have been training and your strength. Therefore, your strength training plays a crucial factor in post-activation potential. Because the more force your muscles can produce, the greater your potentiation will be.
PAP is ideal to do before games and competitions.