Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability

Neslihan Akçay; Kadir Keskin; Cem Sofuoğlu; Kerem Can Yıldız; Nilsu Süpürgeci; Erşan Arslan

doi:10.54141/psbd.1873081

Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability

Abstract

Isometric and dynamic contraction protocols are commonly used in sports to achieve post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE). Although rest intervals in PAPE protocols have been widely investigated, the effects of different PAPE methods on performance across recovery intervals remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of post-activation potentiation induced by different contraction types on change-of-direction performance under varying rest durations. Twenty male soccer players (age: 20.9 ± 1.3 years; training experience: 7.6 ± 2.7 years; height: 176.9 ± 5.7 cm; body weight: 74.3 ± 7.5 kg) voluntarily participated in this study. The study used a randomized, crossover design, with 48-hour intervals over three non-consecutive days. On the first day, anthropometric characteristics and one-repetition maximum (1RM) knee extension performance were assessed. Following a standardized warm-up protocol, change-of-direction (CoD) test performance was recorded on the second and third days. After a 5-minute passive rest, participants performed either a dynamic (1 set of 3 repetitions at 90% 1RM) or an isometric (3 sets of 3 seconds, with 2-minute rest intervals) knee extension protocol. Subsequently, CoD tests were conducted at 15 seconds, 3, 6, 9, and 12 minutes post-activation. No significant main or interaction effects were observed for contraction type or recovery interval (p > .05). Furthermore, no significant differences in rest intervals were observed between the isometric and dynamic protocols (F = 1.383, p = .255, ηp2 = .061). In conclusion, these results indicate that neither the isometric nor the dynamic exercise protocols produced a pronounced PAPE effect on CoD performance.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Karabük, Turkiye (2024/1786). Study was registered retrospectively with Clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT06875505.

Thanks

The authors would like to thank all subjects for their efforts. The study was not supported by any grants, and the authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Sports Training, Sports Science and Exercise (Other)

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Neslihan Akçay ^*
0000-0001-6291-5351
Türkiye

Kadir Keskin
0000-0002-7458-7225
Türkiye

Cem Sofuoğlu
0009-0004-4327-0796
Türkiye

Kerem Can Yıldız
0000-0003-3374-1000
Türkiye

Nilsu Süpürgeci
0009-0002-2277-6179
Türkiye

Erşan Arslan
0000-0002-2933-6937
Türkiye

Early Pub Date

July 31, 2026

Publication Date

-

Submission Date

January 27, 2026

Acceptance Date

April 29, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: Advanced Online Publication

DOI

https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1873081

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA26MX53SW

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Akçay, N., Keskin, K., Sofuoğlu, C., Yıldız, K. C., Süpürgeci, N., & Arslan, E. (2026). Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1873081

AMA

1.Akçay N, Keskin K, Sofuoğlu C, Yıldız KC, Süpürgeci N, Arslan E. Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2026;(Advanced Online Publication). doi:10.54141/psbd.1873081

Chicago

Akçay, Neslihan, Kadir Keskin, Cem Sofuoğlu, Kerem Can Yıldız, Nilsu Süpürgeci, and Erşan Arslan. 2026. “Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, no. Advanced Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1873081.

EndNote

Akçay N, Keskin K, Sofuoğlu C, Yıldız KC, Süpürgeci N, Arslan E (July 1, 2026) Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences Advanced Online Publication

IEEE

[1]N. Akçay, K. Keskin, C. Sofuoğlu, K. C. Yıldız, N. Süpürgeci, and E. Arslan, “Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability”, Pamukkale J Sport Sci, no. Advanced Online Publication, July 2026, doi: 10.54141/psbd.1873081.

ISNAD

Akçay, Neslihan - Keskin, Kadir - Sofuoğlu, Cem - Yıldız, Kerem Can - Süpürgeci, Nilsu - Arslan, Erşan. “Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences. Advanced Online Publication (July 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.54141/psbd.1873081.

JAMA

1.Akçay N, Keskin K, Sofuoğlu C, Yıldız KC, Süpürgeci N, Arslan E. Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2026. doi:10.54141/psbd.1873081.

MLA

Akçay, Neslihan, et al. “Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability”. Pamukkale Journal of Sport Sciences, no. Advanced Online Publication, July 2026, doi:10.54141/psbd.1873081.

Vancouver

1.Neslihan Akçay, Kadir Keskin, Cem Sofuoğlu, Kerem Can Yıldız, Nilsu Süpürgeci, Erşan Arslan. Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Soccer Players: Effects of Different Contraction Types and Rest Intervals on Change of Direction Ability. Pamukkale J Sport Sci. 2026 Jul. 1;(Advanced Online Publication). doi:10.54141/psbd.1873081