(38) THE SQUAT 1RM TEST MAY NOT BE THE BEST INDICATOR FOR THE FUNCTIONAL SKILLS IMPROVEMENT RELATED TO SPORTS PERFORMANCE

Friday, July 14, 2023

12:30 PM – 2:00 PM East Coast USA Time

Location: Milano III-IV

Poster Presenter(s)

Eunwook Chang, PhD

Professor
Inha University
Incheon, Inch'on-jikhalsi, Republic of Korea

Author(s)

YJ

Yeunchang Jeong

Strength & Conditioning Coach
Team 42
Daegu, Taegu-jikhalsi, Republic of Korea
CP

Chanmin Park

Professor
Inha University
Incheon, Inch'on-jikhalsi, Republic of Korea
JS

Jonghun Sung

Professor
Inha University
Incheon, Inch'on-jikhalsi, Republic of Korea

Abstract Details: One-repetition maximum(1RM) of squat is often considered as the gold standard for assessing the athletes’ strength capacity and functional abilities. However, many sports skills require functional characteristics including speed, power, and agility to achieve the goals of each sport. Thus, it would be beneficial to know how other traditional strength test were associated sports related athletic performance.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to 1) examine the efficacy of a six-week strength training program and 2) the associations of 1 RM including squat, bench press, deadlift and power-clean with other sports related athletic performance.

Methods: Twenty professional rugby players (age: 30.5±1.5yr, mass: 96.7±16.6kg, height: 179.3±6.0cm) were evaluated their strength capacity and sports related athletic performance before and after a 6-week strength training. The evaluation tools included the traditional 1RM tests (Bench press, Squat, Deadlift and Power-clean), 20m-Sprint test, Vertical jump, and L-run test). All test procedures were conducted by an experienced strength & conditioning coach accredited by the World Rugby. The 1RM tests were performed based on the National Strength and Conditioning Association guidelines. During the 1RM tests, subjects completed the bench press, squat, deadlift, power clean in random order. The time during the 20m Sprint and L-run tests were recorded by commercial sprint timer (DW-1764, DaewooSportsIndustry, Seoul). Finally, vertical jump heights were recorded by using a tape measure. For data analysis, paired-T test was utilized to examine the effects of the training program on the strength and sports related athletic performances and Cohen’s d effect sizes were calculated. Pearson correlations were used to examine the association between the strength capacity and athletic performances.

Results: The paired-T test indicated significant improvement of strength capacity after 6 weeks of the training. Specifically, squat showed very large effect size(d=2.08) indicating the greatest 1RM improvement. With the baseline data, the associations were found between 1RM deadlift and 20m sprint (r=-0.58, p=0.009) and L-run (r=-0.64, p=0.003). Power clean was associated with 20m sprint (r=-0.63, p=0.002), vertical jump (r=0.49, p=0.025), and L-run (r=-0.69, p=0.001). Bench press and squat 1RM were not associated with athletic performances (p >0.05). After 6 weeks of the strength training, bench press, deadlift, and power clean 1RM were associated with 20m sprint (bench press: r=-0.54, p=0.016; deadlift: r=-0.715, p< 0.001; power clean: r=-0.707, p< 0.001), vertical jump (bench press: r=0.46, p=0.042; deadlift: r=0.44, p=0.049; power clean: r=0.608, p=0.004), and L-run (bench press: r=-0.508, p=0.026; deadlift: r=-0.68, p=0.001; power clean: r=-0.73, p< 0.001). However, squat 1RM was not associated with all athletic performances (p >0.05).

Conclusions: Although a squat 1RM showed significant improvement after 6 weeks of strength training, a squat 1RM improvement was not associated with the athletic performance improvement. Instead, the strength measured by the 1RM tests of power clean showed the significant association with athletic performance after the strength training program. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: These data suggest that strength and conditioning coaches should consider utilizing a power clean, deadlift, and bench press 1RM test to evaluate athletes’ performance development in weight training room setting.

Acknowledgements: None