Differences in the Load–Velocity Profile Between 4 Bench-Press Variants
in International Journal of Sports Physiology and PerformanceClick name to view affiliation
Purpose: To compare the load–velocity relationship between 4 variants of the bench-press (BP) exercise. Methods: The full load–velocity relationship of 30 men was evaluated by means of an incremental loading test starting at 17 kg and progressing to the individual 1-repetition maximum (1RM) in 4 BP variants: concentric-only BP, concentric-only BP throw (BPT), eccentric-concentric BP, and eccentric-concentric BPT. Results: A strong and fairly linear relationship between mean velocity (MV) and %1RM was observed for the 4 BP variants (r2 > .96 for pooled data and r2 > .98 for individual data). The MV associated with each %1RM was significantly higher in the eccentric-concentric technique than in the concentric-only technique. The only significant difference between the BP and BPT variants was the higher MV with the light to moderate loads (20–70%1RM) in the BPT using the concentric-only technique. MV was significantly and positively correlated between the 4 BP variants (r = .44–.76), which suggests that the subjects with higher velocities for each %1RM in 1 BP variant also tend to have higher velocities for each %1RM in the 3 other BP variants. Conclusions: These results highlight the need for obtaining specific equations for each BP variant and the existence of individual load–velocity profiles.
García-Ramos, Pestaña-Melero, Pérez-Castilla, and Rojas are with the Dept of Physical Education and Sport, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. García-Ramos is also with the Faculty of Education, Catholic University of Most Holy Conception, Concepción, Chile. Haff is with the Centre for Exercise and Sport Science Research, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia.
© 2023 Human Kinetics