The effects of morning priming exercise on afternoon physical and cognitive performance in male rugby union players

2025 · doi:10.1101/2025.05.29.656928
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This randomized crossover study investigated whether morning resistance exercise affects afternoon physical and cognitive performance in 25 male rugby union players. On two separate occasions, participants either performed a morning intervention consisting of barbell back squats (3x3 at 85% 1RM) plus barbell squat jumps (5x3 at 40% 1RM), or underwent passive rest, with afternoon physical (countermovement jump, 40 m sprint) and cognitive testing administered about 5.5 hours later. The intervention led to improved sprint performance at 30 m fly and 40 m and increased countermovement jump flight time relative to control, while no cognitive measures changed. The authors report no cognitive benefits and the study’s findings are limited to male rugby players and specific exercise protocols, and the paper does not explicitly discuss endometriosis or adenomyosis; it was included in the corpus via a keyword match in the upstream search index.

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Abstract

Objective To assess the effect of morning resistance exercise on afternoon physical and cognitive performance in male rugby union players. Methods On two occasions (randomised, crossover design), 25 male rugby union players completed morning physical (countermovement jump, 40 m linear sprint) and cognitive (rapid visual information processing; spatial working memory; paired associates of learning) assessments. Control (passive rest) or intervention (barbell back squat, 3 x 3 repetitions at 85% of one repetition maximum and barbell squat jump, 5 x 3 repetitions at 40% one repetition maximum) trials were implemented 5.5 h before afternoon assessments. Results Differences between morning and afternoon assessments were found in sprinting performance following intervention for 30 m fly (-0.08 ± 0.13 s, P = 0.001, ES: -0.75) and 40 m (-0.12 ± 0.17 s, P = 0.004, ES: -0.62) relative to control (0.03 ± 0.07 s, 0.01 ± 0.09 s, 30 m fly and 40 m, respectively). Afternoon countermovement jump flight time improved following intervention compared to control (2% vs. 0%, p = 0.012). Delta analysis discovered significant differences from morning to afternoon in intervention (0.385 ms ± 0.053) but not control (0.405 ms ± 0.057 ) . No changes were found for cognitive assessments ( P > 0.05). Conclusion Morning lower body resistance exercise, incorporating a combination of high intensity and ballistic exercises, was an effective morning strategy to improve afternoon markers of physical but not cognitive performance in male rugby union players.
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Abstract

Objective To assess the effect of morning resistance exercise on afternoon physical and cognitive performance in male rugby union players.

Methods

On two occasions (randomised, crossover design), 25 male rugby union players completed morning physical (countermovement jump, 40 m linear sprint) and cognitive (rapid visual information processing; spatial working memory; paired associates of learning) assessments. Control (passive rest) or intervention (barbell back squat, 3 x 3 repetitions at 85% of one repetition maximum and barbell squat jump, 5 x 3 repetitions at 40% one repetition maximum) trials were implemented 5.5 h before afternoon assessments.

Results

Differences between morning and afternoon assessments were found in sprinting performance following intervention for 30 m fly (-0.08 ± 0.13 s, P = 0.001, ES: -0.75) and 40 m (-0.12 ± 0.17 s, P = 0.004, ES: -0.62) relative to control (0.03 ± 0.07 s, 0.01 ± 0.09 s, 30 m fly and 40 m, respectively). Afternoon countermovement jump flight time improved following intervention compared to control (2% vs. 0%, p = 0.012). Delta analysis discovered significant differences from morning to afternoon in intervention (0.385 ms ± 0.053) but not control (0.405 ms ± 0.057). No changes were found for cognitive assessments (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

Morning lower body resistance exercise, incorporating a combination of high intensity and ballistic exercises, was an effective morning strategy to improve afternoon markers of physical but not cognitive performance in male rugby union players. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

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