The effect of different stretching exercises on optimum power in recreationally active athletes

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different stretching exercises on optimum power in recreationally active athletes. For this purpose, 30 male volunteers aged 18-25 years (body weight: 79.24 ± 10.89 kg, height: 174.90 ± 5.36 cm) who were active in recreational sports in Gümüşhane province participated in the study. After anthropometric measurements and acclimatisation phase, four different protocols were performed on non-consecutive days (specific warm-up, specific warm-up + static stretching, specific warm-up + dynamic stretching, specific warm-up + PNF stretching). Bench press and half squat exercises were performed after each protocol to determine mean pushing power (MPP) and peak power (PP) values. SPSS 26.0 package programme was used for data analysis. Analyses for bench press exercise showed that warm-up protocols had a statistically significant effect on both MPP and PP. ANOVA analyses for MPP and PP showed that the protocols affected bench press performance. It was found that bench press MPP increased more after PNF stretching protocol compared to static stretching. ANOVA analysis showed that the warm-up protocols also increased bench press PP more after PNF stretching protocol compared to specific warm-up (p=0.035) and static stretching (p=0.023). For the half squat exercise, PNF stretching protocol significantly increased both MPP (p=0.049, p=0.026 and p=0.034) and PP (p=0.037 and p=0.025) compared to the other protocols. In conclusion, we can say that the specific warm-up + PNF stretching protocol is an effective option for athletes who want to prepare for power-oriented training.