The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a 7-week heavy elastic band and weighted-chain program on maximum muscular strength and maximum power in the bench press exercise. Thirty-six (n = 36) healthy men aged 18-30 years old, from the Robert Morris University football team, volunteered to participate in this study. During the first week, predicted 1 repetition maximum (1RM) bench press and a 5RM speed bench press tests were conducted. Subjects were randomly divided into 3 groups (n = 12): elastic band (EB), weighted chain (WC), and traditional bench (C). During weeks 2-8 of the study, subjects were required to follow the prescribed resistance training program. Mean and SD of the predicted 1RM bench press and 5RM speed bench press were computed. A two-factor (method X time) analysis was applied to identify significant differences between the training groups. Significance was set at alpha = 0.05. Results indicated a significant time (p < 0.05) but no group effect for both predicted 1RM (kg) and 5RM peak power tests (watts). Although not significant, results did show greater nonsignificant improvements in the EB (848-883 W) and WC groups (856-878 W) vs. control (918-928 W) when the 2 highest and greatest values were selected regarding peak power. The use of EB and WC in conjunction with a general off-season strength and conditioning program can increase overall maximum upper-body strength in a sample of Division 1-AA football players. These types of training modalities add a unique training style and more flexibility with respect to exercise prescription for athletes and strength practitioners.

Several studies have documented the normative data for football combine performance measures in college and professional players. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the anthropometric and combine performance differences between highly recruited and recruited high school football players. A secondary purpose was to provide a historical basis of descriptive data for elite high school football players from 2001 to 2009. Height, weight, 40-yd sprint time, 20-yd shuttle time, vertical jump height, angle drive drill time, and broad jump distance were extracted for 2,560 players from a commercially available website. Mean scores across star value and playing positions were compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and 1-way ANOVAs. Statistical significance was found between highly recruited (5 and 4 stars) and recruited players (3 and 2 stars) for height (highly recruited = 1.878 ± 0.06 m, recruited 1.85 ± 0.11 m), weight (highly recruited = 99.77 ± 4.76 kg, recruited = 97.54 ± 4.84 kg), 40-yd sprint (highly recruited = 4.76 ± 0.327 seconds, recruited = 4.84 ± 0.142 seconds), and vertical jump (highly recruited = 0.775 ± 0.11 m, recruited = 0.750 ± 0.121 m). Ten backward stepwise regression models were calculated (position × variables) with statistical significance set at the p < 0.05 level. The 40-yd sprint time, height, and weight were significant predictors of star value across 10 positions. These data provide anthropometric and performance profiles for highly recruited high school football players. Sprinting ability and physical size are the most consistent predictors of subjective ranking. The results may help strength and conditioning specialists better understand the anthropometric and physical attributes that distinguish highly recruited from recruited players and which attributes are likely to predict higher star value scores.

Strongman exercises consist of multi-joint movements that incorporate large muscle mass groups and impose a substantial amount of neuromuscular stress. The purpose of this study was to examine salivary testosterone responses from 2 novel strongman training (ST) protocols in comparison with an established hypertrophic (H) protocol reported to acutely elevate testosterone levels. Sixteen men (24 ± 4.4 years, 181.2 ± 6.8 cm, and 95.3 ± 20.3 kg) volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects completed 3 protocols designed to ensure equal total volume (sets and repetitions), rest period, and intensity between the groups. Exercise sets were performed to failure. Exercise selection and intensity (3 sets × 10 repetitions at 75% 1 repetition maximum) were chosen as they reflected commonly prescribed resistance exercise protocols recognized to elicit a large acute hormonal response. In each of the protocols, subjects were required to perform 3 sets to muscle failure of 5 different exercises (tire flip, chain drag, farmers walk, keg carry, and atlas stone lift) with a 2-minute rest interval between sets and a 3-minute rest interval between exercises. Saliva samples were collected pre-exercise (PRE), immediate postexercise (PST), and 30 minutes postexercise (30PST). Delta scores indicated a significant difference between PRE and PST testosterone level within each group (p ≤ 0.05), with no significant difference between the groups. Testosterone levels spiked 136% (225.23 ± 148.01 pg·ml(-1)) for the H group, 74% (132.04 ± 98.09 pg·ml(-1)) for the ST group, and 54% (122.10 ± 140.67 pg·ml) for the mixed strongman/hypertrophy (XST) group. A significant difference for testosterone level occurred over time (PST to 30PST) for the H group p ≤ 0.05. In conclusion, ST elicits an acute endocrine response similar to a recognized H protocol when equated for duration and exercise intensity.

Across all repetitions, 90% 1RM appears to produce greater muscle activation during the leg press exercise, but similar peak EMG was observed during the final common repetitions of each set. Muscle Nerve 56: 505-509, 2017.

To investigate the effect of citrulline malate (CM) supplementation on upper-body resistance exercise performance, twelve recreationally resistance-trained men (21.4±1.6 y; 163.0±46.2 cm; 85.0±12.4 kg) underwent two testing sessions administered in a randomized, double-blind fashion. During each visit, participants were provided either 8 g of CM or a placebo (PL) 40 min prior to beginning a standardized warm-up and initiating a barbell bench press resistance exercise protocol consisting of 5 sets of 15 repetitions at 75% 1RM with 2-minute rest intervals. Participants were instructed to complete as many repetitions as possible until either reaching 15 repetitions or muscular failure. Total number of repetitions performed and power output were recorded for each set. Subjective measures of energy, focus, fatigue, and perceived exertion, along with muscle thickness of the triceps brachii, were assessed before and after exercise. Significant (p<0.05) main effects for time were observed for all variables except for subjective feelings of energy (p=0.085). A group × time interaction (F=2.86, p=0.034, n=0.21) was observed for repetitions performed, where participants performed more (p=0.015) repetitions on set 3 during PL (5.7±1.2 repetitions) compared to CM (4.6±1.2 repetitions). However, during set 4, participants tended (p=0.089) to perform more repetitions during CM (4.8±1.8 repetitions) compared to PL (4.3±1.3 repetitions). No other differences were observed between trials. Supplementation with 8 grams of CM 40 min prior to the barbell bench press resistance exercise protocol did not increase exercise performance, augment the muscle swelling response to training, or alter subjective measures of focus, energy, and fatigue in recreationally resistance-trained men.