Effects of active versus passive recovery in the bench press

Abstract

The recovery between sets in strength exercises is one of the variables on which physical performance depends, and yet it has scarcely been investigated. Most of the studies on this topic have focused on different recovery intervals, namely the duration variable; however, our objective is to analyse whether active recovery could minimise the loss of power compared to traditional passive recovery, keeping duration constant between both protocols. To achieve this, 14 trained young volunteers did two sets of bench press of eight repetitions each and a third set until muscle failure with an optimal load to develop maximum power. Each set was separated by two minutes of passive recovery without activity or by active recovery with 60 seconds of vertical chest presses at slow speed with low load. The intraset loss of power was lower with active recovery than with the passive recovery, and this difference was statistically significant in the first and third sets (13.34% vs. 18.84%, p=.006; and 13.38% vs. 17.53%, p=.001, respectively). We also found a discreet yet significantly higher perceived exertion in the second set (4.5 vs. 5.0, p=.033). In conclusion, active recovery may be an appropriate stimulus to minimise intrasession loss of performance and improve perceived exertion in strength exercises.