Upper Body Strength and Power Characteristics in Female Fastpitch Athletes

• Published in: Journal of strength and conditioning research Vol. 25; pp. S90 - S91
• Main Author: Nimphius, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Champaign Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies 01.03.2011
• Subjects: Braking systems; Coaches & managers; Load; Population; Softball
• ISSN: 1064-8011; 1533-4287
• DOI: 10.1097/01.JSC.0000395723.29988.5a

UPPER BODY STRENGTH AND POWER CHARACTERISTICS IN FEMALE FASTPITCH ATHLETESABSTRACT. There is limited research examining upper body strength and power production in fastpitch softball athletes. Understanding the baseline strength and power levels in the upper body of these athletes and a load that can maximize power production has implications for training. PURPOSE: To examine upper body strength power production in well trained female fastpitch softball athletes and to determine if the percentage load that maximises power. METHODS: Female softball players (n = 1 0) from the Western Australian Institute of Sport (1 8.1 ± 1 .6 = years; height = 1 66.5 ± 7.2 cm; weight = 72.4 ± 1 0.8 kg; 1 RM bench = 46.6 ±8.1 kg)) participated in this study. Descriptive measures and bench press strength (1 RM) were measured on day 1 . On day 3, subjects performed bench throws with 40, 60 and 80 percent of their 1 RM on a bench fixed on an above ground force plate (400 Series, Fitness Technology) with a position transducer (PT9510, Celesco) fixed to the bar (1 5kg) attached to a braking system. Software (BMS, Fitness Technology) was utilized to calculate peak power presented in Figure 1. Intraclass correlation (ICC) and coefficient of variance (CV) was determined for peak power at each load (PP40, PP60, PP80). Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare differences in power production between percentage loads with a Bonferroni post hoc for between group differences. Statistical significance was set at an alpha level of ? < 0.05. RESULTS: ICC for PP40, PP60 and PP80 were 0.949, 0.81 7 and 0.926 respectively. CVs were 2.8%, 4.4% and 4.4% for PP40, PP60 and PP80 respectively. Mean loads at 40, 60 and 800/0 of 1 RM were 1 8.6 ± 3.2 kg, 28.0 ± 3.3 kg and 37.3 ± 6.5 kg. Mean PP40, PP60 and PP80 were 525.1 ± 50.0 W, 462.9 ± 49.1 W and 406.3 ± 68.6 W respectively. There was a significant difference between the power output at all loads (p < 0.05) (Graph 1). CONCLUSION: High ICC and low CVs across the loads supports the reliability of bench throws as a measure of upper body power in this population. Significant differences between all loads, demonstrates that the load which represented 40% of 1 RM maximised power output in this population, a load lower than upper body power output suggestions in male rugby players. Further, significant declines in power output continued as the load increased. Loads less than 40% of 1RM should be investigated in the future to determine if 40% of 1 RM actually represents the load for bench throw peak power. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: According to the results of this study, strength and conditioning professionals may utilise a slightly lower percentage of 1 RM than other research has shown if dealing with a female Softball population. Further, due to the homogeneity of these athletes in strength levels, it seems coaches limited for time can choose an absolute load close to 18-20 kg for use across this population to maximise power. However, strength coaches should evaluate the use of lower percentages to determine if this maximises power output in a similar female population. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]