Kenny Croxdale
Level 7 Valued Member
COMPARISON OF THE FORCE-, VELOCITY-, AND POWERTIME CURVES BETWEEN THE CONCENTRIC-ONLY AND ECCENTRIC-CONCENTRIC BENCH PRESS EXERCISES
ABSTRACT Pe´rez-Castilla, A, Comfort, P, McMahon, JJ, Pestan˜a-Melero, FL, and Garcı´a-Ramos, A. Comparison of the force-, velocity-, and power-time curves between the concentric-only and eccentricconcentric bench press exercises. J Strength Cond Res 34(6): 1618–1624, 2020—
The aim of this study was to compare the temporal and mechanical variables between the concentric-only and eccentric-concentric bench press (BP) variants. Twenty-one men (age: 22.0 6 4.2 years, body mass: 73.4 6 7.7 kg, height: 177.2 6 8.0 cm; 1 repetition maximum [1RM]: 1.12 6 0.12 kg$kg21) were evaluated during the concentric-only and eccentric-concentric BP variants using 80% 1RM.... Maximum force as well as the mean values of velocity and power were significantly higher for the eccentric-concentric BP compared with the concentric-only BP. ... The stretch-shortening cycle (i.e., eccentric-concentric BP) mainly enhanced force production at the early portion of the concentric phase, but this potentiation effect gradually reduced over the latter part of the movement. Finally, force was higher for the concentric-only BP during 49% of the concentric phase duration. These results suggest that both BP variants should be included during resistance training programs to optimize force output at different points of the concentric phase.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Temporal and mechanical variables were highly influenced by the BP variant performed. The duration of the concentric phase as well as the contribution of the propulsive phase was shorter for the eccentric concentric BP. ...the mechanical outputs (i.e., force, velocity, and power) were generally higher for the eccentric-concentric BP. It is important to note that each BP variant enabled the maximization of force and power outputs at different points of the repetition. Therefore, the mechanical differences identified in this study between both BP variants suggest that a resistance training program should consider both variants of the BP exercise.