Comparison of Division II College Offensive and Defensive Football Players' Upper Body Strength Across One Repetition Maximum Test and The NFL-225 Test

Abstract

Comparison of Division II College Offensive and Defensive Football Players' Upper Body Strength Across One Repetition Maximum Test and The NFL-225 TestThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of predicting actual one repetition maximum (1RM) bench press strength from the National Football League (NFL) 225-test in college football players. Forty-one Division II college football players participated in this study. Participants' upper body strength scores were expressed relative to body weight and results were compared across both tests. Mayhew et al. equation was used to predict 1RM. A repeated measures ANOVA and one-way ANOVA was used to compare the groups. The present study found that the Mayhew equation overestimated relative upper body strength of college football players, while high degree of reliability was found between the actual 1RM and the NFL-225 tests [Wilks λ = 0.43, F (1,40) = 53.07, p = 0.000, Eta-squared = 0.57] and the correlation between these two tests was very high (r = 0.94, p<0.001). The present study also found that defensive players were stronger than offensive players when scores were expressed relative to body weight. The finding of this study indicates that the NFL-225 test's applicability may not be identical for all college players. This study elucidates some of the difficulties associated with predicting 1RM. However, while it is difficult to predict 1RM, testing using sub-maximal loads are far less time consuming especially when they involve a large number of athletes. The results of this study should facilitate coaches in choosing the most appropriate strength testing procedure for their programs.

Comparison of Estimated-1RM and 225-lb (102-kg) bench press performance between starters and non-starters among a NCAA Division I college football team

“…This study is believed to be the first to examine how the NFL-225 test relates to playing status between different positions in Division I college football players. The strong relationship between 1-RM bench press and the NFL-225 test is consistent with previous studies [4,10,31,32,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. These results indicate that higher levels of upper body strength likely contribute to achieving more repetitions in the NFL-225 test.…”

“…However, the physical skills required to be successful at one position are not necessarily the same for each position on the field. Previous research using physical performance measures has shown the presence of position specific skill requirements [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. The research has commonly grouped liked positions (i.e., big skills = linemenoffensive and defensive, small skills = backsoffensive and defensive, mid skills = linebackers + tight ends).…”

“…Success on the offensive or defensive line is related to an athletes' ability to execute a variety of movements such as charging, blocking, and/or tackling with a high amount of strength and power [19,15,16,18]. Studies have consistently found that the big skills group is typically taller, heavier, display significantly higher absolute strength and power values, cover less distance per play and during a game compared to the other two groups [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]22]. The small skill positions have been shown to have the lowest values for size and strength, lower body fat percentages, greater distances covered, and generally better performance in tests of speed, change of direction, and cardiovascular capabilities [5-9, 12, 13, 15, 16-18, 20, 22, 29].…”