Introduction: Athletes use diverse strategies, including caffeine supplementation, to reduce fatigue and improve their performance. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the post-activation potentiation method and caffeine supplementation on peripheral fatigue after Wikstrom's fatigue protocol in young male volleyball players.
Methods: In this study, forty male volleyball players with an average age of 27.33 ± 1.78 years and an average weight of 76.5 ± 7.45 kg participated. They were divided into four experimental groups: a group that used only the PAP method (n=10), a group that consumed only caffeine (n=10), a group that both performed PAP and consumed caffeine (n=10), and a control group (n=10). For the groups receiving caffeine, a caffeine supplement was administered at a dose of 6 mg per kilogram of body weight, 15 minutes before starting the protocol. PAP exercises were performed at an intensity of 70% of the one-repetition maximum. Blood samples were taken one hour before and one hour after completing the Wikstrom six-station protocol. All subjects participated in this study voluntarily and they had no illness or injury at the start of the research.
Results: The results of the present study showed that the implementation of PAP along with caffeine showed a significant increase in the variables of time to exhaustion and the number of rounds (p<0.05), while the rate of ammonia showed a significant decrease (p<0.05). In contrast, uric acid showed no significant difference (p>0.05).
Conclusions: The results of the present study, showed that the use of caffeine reduces peripheral fatigue. Also, since the use of PAP did not have an adverse effect on the participant's performance, athletes can use this method concurrently with caffeine to improve their performance in endurance activities.