THE EFFECT OF TECHNIQUES ON MECHANICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BAR KINEMATICS WHILE PERFORMING THE BENCH PRESS BY MEN AND WOMEN

Abstract

Aim. The paper deals with a comparative analysis of the effect introduced by variable techniques on the mechanical characteristics of bar kinematics when performing the bench press by men and women. Materials and methods. The study involved nine male and seven female skilled powerlifters. A photo of two static positions of athletes was taken when performing the bench press: 1 – the bar on outstretched arms and 2 – the bar on the athlete’s chest. Lowering the bar to the chest was performed with three options: 1 – without pulling the shoulder blades together and without arching the lower back, 2 – with pulling the shoulder blades together and without arching the lower back, 3 – with pulling the shoulder blades together and arching the lower back (the bridge exercise). The barbell was: 144.1 ± 9.9 kg (men) and 55.0 ± 6.2 kg (women). The following characteristics were evaluated: the module for bar displacement ( ) between position 1 and position 2, as well as the projection of bar displacement on the horizontal ( ) and vertical axis ( ). Results. When using option 2, the S value significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by 2.4 ± 0.8 cm (men) and 4.0 ± 1.1 cm (women), when using option 3 – by 6.7 ± 0.9 cm (men) and 5.1 ± 1.3 cm (women) compared to option 1. In all options of the bench press the  value and the  value were lower for women than for men but the differences were not significant (p > 0.05) Conclusion. Both pulling the shoulder blades together and arching the lower back allow to reliably reduce the  and  values during the bench press in both men and women.