2.4. Experimental Sessions

During experimental sessions, the athletes participated in three identical training trials. All trials took place between 9.00 and 11.00 am. to avoid the effect of circadian variations on the outcomes of the investigation. After replicating the warm-up procedures of the familiarization trial, the athletes performed 5 sets of the 2 BPT repetitions at 30% 1 RM on the Smith machine. The repetitions were performed without rest to produce a ballistic movement while the rest interval between sets was 3 min. The participants were encouraged to produce maximal velocity during both the eccentric and concentric phase of the BPT movement. Two spotters were present on each side of the bar during the exercise protocol to ensure safety. To standardize the exercise protocol for all trials, each BPT was performed without bouncing the barbell off the chest, with the lower back in contact with the bench and without any pause between the eccentric and concentric phases of the movement. A rotatory encoder (Tendo Power Analyzer, Tendo Sport Machines, Trencin, Slovakia) was used for instantaneous recording of bar velocity during the whole range of motion, as in previous investigations [51]. During each BPT, peak power output (PP, in W) mean power output (MP, in W); peak bar velocity (PV, in m/s); and mean bar velocity (MV, in m/s) were registered. MP and MV were obtained as the mean of the two repetitions while PP and PV were obtained from the best repetition.