Heavy Load Chain Squats: A Promising Method for Enhancing Lower Extremity Explosive Strength via Post-Activation Performance Enhancement

Dianxue WU¹Shuo Feng¹Wei LU^2*Aiguo Zhou^1*

• ¹Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China
• ²School of Physical Education and Sports Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China

This study assessed the Post-Activation Performance Enhancement (PAPE) effects of chain squats (CS) and traditional squats (TS) on 18 male participants who performed each at 90% of their one-repetition maximum (1RM) in a randomized sequence. Countermovement jump (CMJ) tests were conducted at baseline and at 4, 8, 12, and 16 minutes post-intervention. Results indicated that both squat modalities significantly enhanced explosive performance, but CS was more effective than TS. Specifically, CS demonstrated greater improvements in Jump Height (JH) at 4 minutes (P < 0.01, η² = 0.119, d = 3.69) and 8 minutes (P < 0.01, η² = 0.102, d = 3.49) compared to TS. For peak power (PP), CS also outperformed TS with larger effect sizes noted at the same intervals. In contrast, neither modality significantly affected the peak rate of force development (PRFD), with CS showing a decline at 12 minutes (P = 0.055, η² = -0.014, d = -424.16). CS also showed superior effects in peak impulse (PI), peaking at 4 minutes (P < 0.01, η² = 0.019, d = 6.56). Overall, CS significantly outperformed TS in enhancing JH, PP, and PI, especially during the early post-intervention phase (4-8 minutes), suggesting CS as a superior training strategy for improving explosive strength in athletes.