Inclusion of whole-body vibration within a realistic warm-up has no positive effect on reactive strength performance beyond that caused by warm-up alone, however, case-by-case basis is recommended when applying whole-body vibration to enhance reactive strength performance. This study aimed to examine the effects of adding whole-body vibration (WBV) within a realistic dynamic warm-up to potentiate reactive strength performance. Twelve highly-trained sprinters (8 males and 4 females, age: 22.6±2.6yr; stature: 1.68±0.08m; body mass: 62.4±11.2kg; competitive experience: 6.7±2.4yr) completed 2 experimental conditions: dynamic warm-up + WBV or dynamic warm-up alone (control: CON) in a balanced random, crossover manner. WBV was performed on a Power Plate Pro7 device (frequency: 40Hz, amplitude: 6mm) along with two exercises, 10 repetitions of squat and 10 repetitions of calf raise exercises during the first and second 30-s period, respectively of the total 60-s WBV exposure. For the CON, the same protocol was applied with the vibratory platform turned off. Reactive Strength Index (RSI) was obtained from a 35-cm height of drop jump at pre and 1-min post warm-up. The best (RSIbest) and mean (RSImean) values were analysed subsequently. The main effect of Time indicated an identical increase in WBV and CON for RSIbest (effect size (ES): 0.60; 14.5% difference; p=0.0005 and ES: 0.64; 16.0%; p=0.0005, respectively) and for RSImean (ES: 0.64; 16.0%; p=0.0005 and ES: 0.64; 16.0%; p=0.0005). There was no main effect (p>0.05) of Condition (between-group), and Condition*Time interaction. No statistical differences (p>0.05) were detected in magnitude of changes for WBV vs. CON in each sub-group, however, lower-level sprinters (n=6) responded better during WBV (6.1% and 5.7% increases in RSImean and RSIbest, respectively), while higher-level group did poorer (-4.6% and -5.5%). The data suggest that the effects of WBV exposure may depend on athlete`s ability levels, maybe more beneficial to sub-elite but unnecessary for elite athletes. Collectively, a proper dynamic warm-up was sufficient to elicit positive effect on reactive strength performance.
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