two sets of dynamic stretching of the lower body musculature improves linear repeated-sprint performance in team-sports

Background: warm-up including dynamic stretching is a popular and widely accepted practice as a pre-exercise routine for athletes. however, a shortage of studies investigating the impact of dynamic stretching on linear repeated-sprint performance exists. objectives: the present study aims to look at the effect of different volumes of dynamic stretching on 30mlinear repeated sprint performance in team sport athletes. methods: fifteen male university team-sport players [age (mean±sd) 22.1±0.6 years, stature 166.9±6.6cm and body mass 67.5 ±8.0kg] underwent 3 sessions in this within-subjects counterbalanced study. all sessions included a general warm-up (5-minutes self-paced), followed by a dynamic stretching protocol (one set-dss1; two sets-dss2; three sets-dss3) comprised of five active dynamic exercises for lower body musculature (gastrocnemius, gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps and hip extensor). a standardized specific warm-up was then undertaken followed by a repeated-sprint test (630-m sprint with 30 seconds active recovery). results: values for average sprint time (ast) and total sprint times (tst) were significantly faster (p = 0.005) following dss2 compared to dss1 and dss3. fatigue index (fi) was significantly lower in dss2 compared to dss1 and dss3 (p < 0.0005). heart rate responses and blood lactate also showed significantly lower (p < 0.05) values during the repeated sprint test in dss2. no differences were established (p > 0.05) for best sprint time (bst), mean sprint time (mst) or rating of perceived exertion (rpe). conclusions: in conclusion, a dynamic warm-up consisting of two sets resulted in improved performance in repeated-sprint. the exact mechanisms associated with this established ergogenic benefit is still unclear and requires more research.