Sex differences in the determination of prescribed load in ballistic bench press

Introduction: The objectives of the present study were twofold: first, to identify the specific relative load at which the concentric motion transforms into a purely propulsive action among women, and second, to compare the load-velocity relationships between men and women during the bench press throw. Methods: Fourteen men and fourteen women participated in a test where they progressively increased the load until reaching their one-repetition maximum (1RM) in the bench press exercise. Linear regression models were employed to elucidate the relationships between load and velocity, as well as load and the propulsive phase (% of total concentric time). Additionally, ANCOVA was utilized to compare the linear regression models between men and women. Results: The results revealed strong and linear associations between load and mean propulsive velocity (MPV) for both men and women, as well as between load and the propulsive phase. Notably, there were significant differences in MPV and the propulsive phase concerning load between men and women. Women transitioned into a fully propulsive concentric phase at approximately 80% of their 1RM, while men achieved this entirely propulsive phase at around 85% of their 1RM. Furthermore, women exhibited reduced velocities when handling lighter relative loads compared to men. Conversely, women demonstrated higher velocities when dealing with loads exceeding 85% of their 1RM in contrast to their male counterparts. Discussion: These findings hold notable implications for prescribing bench press throw loads for women, which should differ from those recommended for men. Further studies are necessary to validate the efficacy of the proposed load recommendations.

Seasonal and Longitudinal Changes in Body Composition by Sport-Position in NCAA Division I Basketball Athletes

The purpose of this study was to assess the body composition of male and female basketball athletes (n = 323) across season, year, and sport-position using air displacement plethysmography. An independent sample t-test assessed sport-position differences. An analysis of variance was used to assess within-subjects across season (pre-season, in-season, and off-season), and academic year (freshman, sophomore, and junior). For both men and women basketball (MBB, WBB) athletes, guards had the lowest body fat, fat mass, fat free mass, and body mass. No seasonal differences were observed in MBB, but following in-season play for WBB, a reduction of (p = 0.03) in fat free mass (FFM) was observed. Across years, MBB showed an increase in FFM from freshman to sophomore year, yet remained unchanged through junior year. For WBB across years, no differences occurred for body mass (BM), body fat (BF%), and fat mass (FM), yet FFM increased from sophomore to junior year (p = 0.009). Sport-position differences exist in MBB and WBB: Guards were found to be smaller and leaner than forwards. Due to the importance of body composition (BC) on athletic performance, along with seasonal and longitudinal shifts in BC, strength and conditioning practitioners should periodically assess athletes BC to ensure preservation of FFM. Training and nutrition programming can then be adjusted in response to changes in BC.

BODYWEIGHT HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

ABSTRACT The objective of this study consisted of describing, through a systematic review, the load control strategies and the different adaptations promoted by bodyweight high-intensity interval training. After selecting articles in the Medline/PubMed, ScienceDirect, SPORTDiscus and Scielo databases, 288 studies were found. However, after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria only two articles were considered eligible for the systematic review. Of these, the sample of the selected studies was made up of 48 individuals, 31 female and 17 male, ranging in age from 20.3 to 20.5 years. The stimulus time of the exercise protocols used was 20 and 30 seconds, and the recovery time was 10 seconds (passive) and 4 minutes (active), while the total session time ranged from 4 to 18 minutes. Intensity in both studies was “all out”, and the weekly frequency was 4 and 3 days, totaling 16 and 12 training sessions in each study. Only one study evaluated changes in body mass and no significant changes were found. In addition, discrepancies between parameters in aerobic fitness and muscle endurance were found between studies. Bodyweight HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) protocols use different external load parameters, but the stimulus and recovery times are common variables for the organization of training sessions, with different duration and weekly frequency between sessions, which may have influenced the different adaptations to the parameters of physical fitness between the studies. Level of Evidence I; Prognostic studies - Investigating the effect of patient characteristics on disease outcome.