Lower Limb Force, Velocity, Power Capabilities during Leg Press and Squat Movements

Abstract

The aim was to compare lower-limb power, force, and velocity capabilities between squat and leg press movements. Ten healthy sportsmen performed ballistic lower-limb push-offs against 5-to-12 different loads during both the squat and leg press. Individual linear force-velocity and polynomial power-velocity relationships were determined for both movements from push-off mean force and velocity measured continuously with a pressure sensor and linear encoder. Maximal power output, theoretical maximal force and velocity, force-velocity profile and optimal velocity were computed. During the squat, maximal power output (17.7±3.59 vs. 10.9±1.39 W·kg), theoretical maximal velocity (1.66±0.29 vs. 0.88±0.18 m·s), optimal velocity (0.839±0.144 vs. 0.465±0.107 m·s), and force-velocity profile (-27.2±8.5 vs. -64.3±29.5 N·s·m·kg) values were significantly higher than during the leg press (p=0.000, effect size=1.72-3.23), whereas theoretical maximal force values (43.1±8.6 vs. 51.9±14.0 N·kg, p=0.034, effect size=0.75) were significantly lower. The mechanical capabilities of the lower-limb extensors were different in the squat compared with the leg press with higher maximal power due to much higher velocity capabilities (e.g. ability to produce force at high velocities) even if moderately lower maximal force qualities.

The Psychophysiological Effects of Different Tempo Music on Endurance Versus High-Intensity Performances

“…Furthermore, immediately after the walking exercise, the participant was asked to express their perception of fatigue as a value based on the Borg scale (0 < 20). On a different day, each participant was assessed with regard to their maximal repetitions during the leg-press exercise (Padulo et al, 2017;Migliaccio et al, 2018) and the 1-RM based on the Brzycki method was calculated at the same time (Padulo et al, 2015). To ensure standardization of the procedure the following method was used.…”

On the Shape of the Force-Velocity Relationship in Skeletal Muscles: The Linear, the Hyperbolic, and the Double-Hyperbolic

“…Deviations from the rectangular hyperbola are not unusual in the in vivo F-V relationship in humans during either single- (Komi, 1973; Thorstensson et al, 1976; Perrine and Edgerton, 1978; Wickiewicz et al, 1984; Froese and Houston, 1985; Dudley et al, 1990; Finni et al, 2003; Chino et al, 2008; Fontana Hde et al, 2014) or multi-joint muscle actions (Sargeant et al, 1981; Vandewalle et al, 1987; Beelen and Sargeant, 1991; Bosco et al, 1995; Rahmani et al, 2001, 2018; Hintzy et al, 2003; Macaluso and De Vito, 2003; Pearson et al, 2004; Yamauchi et al, 2007, 2009, 2010; Rejc et al, 2010; Bobbert, 2012; Samozino et al, 2012, 2014a,b; Cuk et al, 2014, 2016; Zbinden-Foncea et al, 2014; Jaric, 2015; Bobbert et al, 2016; Garcia-Ramos et al, 2016, 2018; Giroux et al, 2016; Alcazar et al, 2017, 2018c; Avrillon et al, 2017; Banyard et al, 2017; Fernandes et al, 2017; Padulo et al, 2017; Riviere et al, 2017; Zivkovic et al, 2017a,b; Navarro-Cruz et al, 2019). In both cases, the reason for the deviations was speculated to be a central inhibitory mechanism (Perrine and Edgerton, 1978; Wickiewicz et al, 1984; Yamauchi et al, 2007).…”

Leg Press vs. Smith Machine: Quadriceps Activation and Overall Perceived Effort Profiles

“…Feet were always placed parallel each other and at shoulder-width. It must be noticed that LP effective seat weight results from the multiplication of seat's 49-kg mass by the sine of 10.2°, which was the inclination of the sliding axis of the LP seat over the horizontal (Padulo et al, 2017 ). Both machines (for the MP and LP) were checked before and after the experiments (Winter, 2012 ) with calibration loads (5, 10, 20 kg, weighed on an electronic scale), according to the manufacturer's guidelines and the coefficient of variation resulted <1%.…”