Strength & Force Production: Traditional vs Accommodating Bench Press

Strength & Force Production: Traditional vs Accommodating Bench Press

Alexzandra AustinLily Muir

Introduction

• Resistance training maximizes strength and force production, which is a central focus for collegiate athletes.

• Strength varies throughout the range of movement

• Resistance bands "elicit higher force, velocity, power, and muscle activity"

• Studied across various populations, but limited research has examined its effects within female collegiate athletes.
• Female physiological differences

• Understanding accommodating resistance can help strength and conditioning professionals design better programs

The purpose of this study is to compare strength and force production between the traditional bench press and the accommodating resistance bench press in female collegiate athletes.

Research Questions

• What are the differences in strength and force production in both the traditional bench press and the accommodating resistance bench press in female collegiate athletes?

• Does accommodating resistance training produce better strength and force production outcomes when compared to a traditional bench press?

Hypothesis

Accommodating resistance will produce greater force output and strength adaptations due to increased loading during mechanically advantageous phases of the lift

Limitations

• Most of the subjects haven't strength trained in over a month
• The sample may not be representative of all female collegiate athletes (only two teams were sampled)
• Some subjects may have participated in other exercise in addition to the designated training sessions
• Training period was shorter than ideal

• Some subjects had to make up training sessions at alternative times

Methodology

• Design: Randomized controlled trial

• 6 total sessions (3 weeks)

• First session was pre-testing to get baseline 3RM
• 3RM and bar veleocity (force production) was recorded
• 4 training sessions with either traditional or accomodating resistance bench press
• Traditional group: Bench press with standard barbell and weights
• Accomodating resistance group: Traditional bench press, but utilizing 15lb chains incorporated into total weight
• Final session was a post-testing session to assess the athletes’ improvement in strength and force production relative to their baseline measurements

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18-23 years old
• Current athlete on a women’s collegiate or club team at Salisbury University
• Able to participate in submaximal lifting exercise
• At least 6 months of prior experience with resistance training
• Willing to be involved in the study and committed to all aspects of the study
• Provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Athletes suffering from ongoing injuries resulting in restriction of play
• Other conditions or eligibility issues that restrict athletes from participating in daily practice

Testing Sessions

• Dynamic warmup followed by bench press/chest-specific mobility and activation exercises
• Warm up with an unloaded barbell for ~8 reps
• Weight was gradually added until 3RM was achieved
• 2-3 minutes in between sets/attempts
• RepOne device was attached
• An instructor was present to record weight and bar velocity during 3RM attempt
• Successful 3RM criteria:
• 5 points of contact maintained
• Bar lowered to chest
• No excessive bouncing
• Elbows fully extended at the top
• *For the post-test, an attempt using the pre-test's weight must be incorporated

Training Sessions

• 4 training sessions
• Twice a week Tuesday and Thursday 7:30-8:30pm

• Warm up and mobility/activation remained the same as testing sessions
• 4 x 5 working sets at subject's calculated weight
• For the accomodating resistance group, chains were incorporated into the total weight
• Condensed plan
• First session @85% 3RM
• Second and third session @90% 3RM
• Fourth session @95% 3RM

Projected Results

Due to the athletes still undergoing physical training, it is difficult to get results since we would have to do a 3RM test in the middle of them lifting heavy.

Significance

• Sports performance professionals can use this knowledge to understand how to effectively progress strength and force production adaptations using accommodating resistance
• Contribute to the limited research done on accomodating resistance training and in the female collegiate athlete population

Future Studies

• Examine the long-term effects of how accommodating resistance enhances strength and force production in comparison to traditional resistance training
• This study can also be repeated with varying populations to allow for better generalization

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Salisbury University Athletic Department for allowing us to use the Huffman Family Sports Performance Center and its equipment to complete this research

References

Charles, F., & Debeliso, M. (2021). Accommodating resistance training: Scopus review. Journal of Physical Education Research, 8, 22–33. https://joper.org/JOPER/JOPERVolume8_Issue2_4_6_2021_238.pdf Israetel, Michael A; McBride, Jeffrey M; Nuzzo, James L; Skinner, Jared W; Dayne, Andrea M. Kinetic and Kinematic Differences Between Squats Performed With and Without Elastic Bands. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24(1):p 190-194, January 2010. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31819b7995 Lin, Y., Xu, Y., Hong, F., Li, J., Ye, W., & Korivi, M. (2022). Effects of variable-resistance training versus constant-resistance training on maximum strength: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(14), 8559. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19148559 Masel, S., & Maciejczyk, M. (2024). Accommodating resistance is more effective than free weight resistance to induce post-activation performance enhancement in squat jump performance after a short rest interval. Journal of exercise science and fitness, 22(1), 59–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2023.12.001 van den Tillaar, R., Saeterbakken, A. H., & Andersen, V. (2022). The Acute Effects of Attaching Chains to the Barbell on Kinematics and Muscle Activation in Bench Press in Resistance-Trained Men. Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology, 7(2), 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk7020039