Rest Redistribution Functions as a Free and Ad-Hoc Equivalent to Commonly used Velocity-Based Training Thresholds During Clean Pulls at Different Loads

This study determined whether redistributing total rest time into shorter, but more frequent rest periods could maintain velocity and power output during 3 traditional sets of 6 clean pulls using 80% (TS80), 100% (TS100) and 120% (TS120) of power clean 1RM with 180 seconds of inter-set rest and during 3 “rest redistribution” protocols of 9 sets of 2 clean pulls using 80% (RR80), 100% (RR100) and 120% (RR120) of power clean 1RM with 45 seconds of inter-set rest. The total number of repetitions performed above 10 and 20% velocity loss thresholds, mean and peak velocity maintenance (the average of all 18 repetitions relative to the best repetition; MVM, PVM), and decline (the worst repetition relative to the best repetition; MVD, PVD) were calculated. For MVM, PVM, MVD, and PVD, there were small-to-moderate effect sizes in favour of RR80 and RR100, but large effects favouring RR120, compared to their respective TS protocols. The number of repetitions within a 20% velocity loss threshold was 17.7 ± 0.6 during RR and 16.5 ± 2.4 during TS (effect size 0.69); and the number of repetitions within a 10% velocity loss threshold was about 13.1 ± 3.7 during RR and 10.7 ± 3.6 during TS (effect size 0.66). Therefore, RR generally allowed for a better overall maintenance of velocity and power, especially at heavy loads. Coaches who wish to implement velocity-based training, but who do not wish to purchase or use the associated equipment, may consider rest-redistribution to encourage similar training stimuli.