Assessment of Upper-Body Ballistic Performance Through the Bench Press Throw Exercise: Which Velocity Outcome Provides the Highest Reliability?

This study aimed to compare the between-session reliability of 3 velocity variables (mean velocity [MV], mean propulsive velocity [MPV], and maximum velocity [Vmax]) to assess bench press throw (BPT) performance. Twenty-one men were tested during 2 consecutive weeks in 2 variants of the BPT exercise (concentric-only and eccentric-concentric) against 5 different loading conditions (17, 27, 37, 47, and 57 kg). The 2 sessions of each BPT variant were performed within the same week separated by 48–72 hours. The main findings revealed that (a) the highest reliability was observed for Vmax (median coefficient of variation [CV] and range) (CV = 2.14% [1.43–4.02%]), followed by MV (CV = 3.18% [1.47–5.22%]), and finally, the MPV was the least reliable variable (CV = 4.27% [1.98–6.38%]), (b) all velocity variables demonstrated a higher reliability during the eccentric-concentric BPT (CV = 2.41% [1.43–5.30%]) when compared with the concentric-only BPT (CV = 4.02% [1.74–6.38%]), and (c) the reliability tended to decrease with the increment of the load: 17 kg (CV = 2.12% [1.43–4.68%]), 27 kg (CV = 1.96% [1.74–3.86%]), 37 kg (CV = 2.98% [2.47–5.67%]), 47 kg (CV = 4.59% [2.32–6.38%]), and 57 kg (CV = 3.92% [1.95–5.52%]). These results indicate that the assessment of the Vmax should be performed with a light-loading condition during the eccentric-concentric BPT for obtaining the most reproducible measure of upper-body ballistic performance.

Source: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research - September 22, 2018 Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research