The Effects of a 7-Week Heavy Elastic Band and Weight Chain Program on Upper-Body Strength and Upper-Body Power in a Sample of Division 1-AA Football Players

Abstract

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.

Kinematic and Kinetic Analysis of Maximal Velocity Deadlifts Performed With and Without the Inclusion of Chain Resistance

“…The authors reported that all three groups significantly improved their 1RM strength with no significant differences established between groups. Ghigiarelli et al, (19) also reported greater non-significant improvements in peak power for the variable resistance groups. Combining the results obtained by McCurdy et al, (27) and Ghigiarelli et al,(19) it is evident that chains can be combined with free-weight resistance to improve strength.…”

“…Ghigiarelli et al, (19) also reported greater non-significant improvements in peak power for the variable resistance groups. Combining the results obtained by McCurdy et al, (27) and Ghigiarelli et al,(19) it is evident that chains can be combined with free-weight resistance to improve strength. In addition, it appears that the inclusion of chains may provide additional advantages over a constant barbell resistance for certain biomechanical and physiological variables.…”

“…In the most recent longitudinal investigation of chain resistance Ghigiarelli et al, (19) compared the effects of training with a constant barbell resistance or a combination of barbell resistance and rubber bands or chains. The study included thirty-six college football players who performed four resistance training sessions per week over a seven week training intervention.…”

“…In addition, it appears that the inclusion of chains may provide additional advantages over a constant barbell resistance for certain biomechanical and physiological variables. The majority of longitudinal studies that have investigated the effects of combining variable resistance material with freeweights have used rubber bands (2,13,19,21,35). The results have clearly demonstrated that the addition of rubber bands can significantly improve measures of strength and power and those improvements are generally significantly larger than those achieved when using a constant resistance (2,13,35).…”

Volume estimations for combined free-weight and rubber-band resistance exercise

“…The increase in popularity of intra-repetition (Soria-Gila, Chirosa, Bautista, Chirosa, & Salvador, 2015) variable resistance exercise applied via chains and rubber, elastic bands (Baker & Newton, 2005;Heinecke, Jovick, Cooper, & Wiechert, 2004;Simmons, 1996Simmons, , 1999Swinton, Lloyd, Agouris, & Stewart, 2009;Warpeha, 2002) coupled with the varied, inconsistent adaptations reported with these loading methodologies (Anderson, Sforzo, & Sigg, 2005;Ghigiarelli, et al, 2009;McCurdy, Langford, Ernest, Jenkerson, & Doscher, 2009;Rhea, Kenn, & Dermody, 2009;Shoepe, Ramirez, Rovetti, Kohler, & Almstedt, 2011) mandates a more valid and careful examination of training volume during variable resistance applications. This is due to traditional free-weight exercises producing linear loading patterns, whereas variable resistance, as incurred by rubber-bands, exhibit nonlinear loading patterns (McMaster, Cronin, & McGuigan, 2009;Mcmaster, Cronin, & McGuigan, 2010;Shoepe, Ramirez, & Almstedt, 2010;Thomas, Mueller, & Busse, 2005).…”