Renfrow, M. S., Caputo, J. L., & Farley, R. S. (2007). The effects of active versus passive recovery on blood lactate and exercise performance in resistance training. ACSM Annual Meeting New Orleans, Presentation Number 1819.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of active and passive recovery on blood lactate and exercise performance during resistance exercise. Ss (M = 33; F = 27) were placed into a passive recovery group or active recovery group. One-repetition maximum (1 RM) on the bench press was determined for each participant and 70% of 1 RM was calculated. Ss performed two sets of bench presses until failure at 70% of 1 RM with two-minutes of recovery between sets.

Blood lactate levels decreased significantly during passive recovery as compared to active recovery condition. There was less performance drop-off between sets with passive recovery compared to active.

Implication. Passive recovery was superior to active recovery during resistance exercise. It sustained performance better and produced lower post-recovery blood lactates.

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