Acute effects of rest redistribution set structures on muscle activation, perceptual fatigue and jump performance: A randomized crossover trial

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the acute effects of conventional set structure and rest redistribution set structures on muscle activation, perceptual fatigue and jump performance. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two students (age: 23.50 ± 3.05 years, height: 173.68 ± 7.19 cm, body weight: 71.22 ± 10.82 kg, 1 repetition maximal: 92.27 ± 15.48 kg) participated voluntarily. A randomized experimental design was applied in the study. The traditional set structures (TR) and rest redistribution set structures (RR1 and RR2) were used. Active jump (CMJ) heights were measured with Push-Band before and after training, muscle activation was recorded with superficial EMG during training, perceived level of difficulty (RPE) between sets and overall level of difficulty (s-RPE) 30 minutes after the end of training. The intensity, total number of repetitions and total rest time were kept equal in TR, RR1 and RR2 methods. All participants participated in the all resistance training method. Each participant went through the following steps in the first session: Anthropometric measurements, familiarization (warm-up protocol, active jump technique, squat technique), 1 repetition maximal measurement, maximal voluntary isometric contraction measurement. Results: Two-way mixed design analysis of variance of the measurement results showed no statistically significant difference in mean muscular activation, peak muscular activation, perceived degree of difficulty (RPE) and active jump height (CMJ) between groups (p>0,05). There was a statistically significant difference in mean muscular activation, peak muscular activation, perceived degree of difficulty and active jump height before and after training (p<0,05). In the Group*Set interaction, a significant difference was found in the perceived degree of difficulty (p<0,05). Conclusion: Traditional set structure and rest redistribution set structures show similar mean and peak muscle activation, similar perceptual fatigue and similar active jump performance in vastus lateralis muscle. Keywords: Jump Performance; Muscle Activation; Perceptual Fatigue; Rest Redistribution; Traditional Set