Background Blood flow restriction combined with low-load resistance training (BFR-RT) may effectively induce post-activation performance enhancement (PAPE) in team sport athletes. However, the effectiveness of its application in male volleyball players is unclear. Objective This study aimed to investigate the effect of BFR-RT on PAPE in male volleyball players between 15 s and 20 min after barbell squats. Methods Sixteen male collegiate volleyball players were randomly assigned to two groups, the BFR-RT group and the control group. The BFR-RT group performed two sets of 30 repetitions of barbell squats at 30% of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) with an average pressure of approximately 200 mmHg. The control group did squats at 90% 1RM. PAPE was assessed by measuring countermovement jump (CMJ) height, peak power output (PPO), vertical ground reaction force (vGRF), rate of force development (RFD), and EMG root-mean-square (RMS) of the biceps femoris (BF), vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM), gastrocnemius (GA), and tibialis anterior (TA) at baseline and 15 s, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 min after the squats. A two-factor repeated-measures ANOVA was used for statistical analysis of the metrics. Results The BFR-RT elicited PAPE in male volleyball players, with significant improvements observed in CMJ height. CMJ height significantly increased from 4 to 20 min after the conditioning activity (p < 0.01), with a between-group difference favoring BFR-RT at 16 min. For PPO, vGRF, and RFD, no significant time × group interactions were detected; however, time main effects indicated significant increases across both BFR-RT and RT groups (p < 0.05). Moreover, RMS amplitudes significantly increased over time for six muscles (BF, VL, RF, VM, GA, and TA; all p < 0.01), with no significant between-group differences. Conclusions BFR-RT may induce acute PAPE in male volleyball players: CMJ exceeded RT at 16 min, PPO favored BFR-RT at 8-20 min, while vGRF, RFD, and EMG rose over time without consistent between-group effects. Given the small sample size, these preliminary findings require larger studies to confirm the potential of BFR-RT compared to traditional resistance training.
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