Effectiveness of accommodation and constant resistance training on maximal strength and power in trained athletes

Abstract

Accommodation resistance is a training technique that may improve strength and power gains beyond those achieved by traditional free weights. In this method, chains are either added on a free-weight bar and combined with traditional plates or added to the bar as the entire load.Purpose. The aim of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of accommodation and constant resistance training methods during a four-week period on maximal strength and power in trained athletes.Methods. This study was comprised of 24 trained athletes, including 16 trained males [8 Wushu athletes (Kung-Fu) and 8 wrestlers, age: 20.5 ± 2.00 yrs. old]. Participants were initially tested on weight, body circumference, fat percent, upper and lower body maximal strength, determined by the 1-repetition maximum (1RM) test, which determines the greatest amount of weight a person can successfully lift, and upper and lower body power. Participants were equally randomized to either accommodation or constant resistance training groups. Both groups underwent resistance training for a four-week period that consisted of three sessions per week. Multivariate repeated-measures analyses of variance of the data were used to verify significant differences in strength and power between groups. The modified Bonferroni post hoc test was used to compare the obtained results in pre-, mid-, and post test.Results. In the accommodation resistance group, there was a significant difference in lower body maximal strength compared to the constant group (163.12 ± 18.82 kg in the accommodation group vs. 142.25 ± 20.04 kg in the constant group, P = 0.04). No significant differences were found in upper body power, lower body power, and upper body maximal strength between the two groups (P > 0.05).Conclusion. Although there was only a significant difference in lower body maximal strength between groups, accommodation resistance training may induce a physiological training response by improving the strength and power of stabilizing muscle groups required to balance the bar if consistently used over time.

Comparison of High-Protein, Intermittent Fasting Low-Calorie Diet and Heart Healthy Diet for Vascular Health of the Obese

“…Furthermore, as previous studies have confirmed the involvement of reactive oxygen species in multiple CVD (Zuo et al, 2011 ; Zhu and Zuo, 2013 ), assessing the potential effects of different diets on the redox balance in the body may be an area of interest for future dietary studies at the molecular level. Further identification of an optimal role of cardiac preconditioning regimens and resistance training may be necessary as these methods may likely modulate lean body mass and muscle strength during WL (Zuo et al, 2013 ; Ataee et al, 2014 ).…”

Effects of Variable-Resistance Training Versus Constant-Resistance Training on Maximum Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A total of 22 reports that comprised both trained and untrained participants were included for the meta-analysis [ 8 , 16 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. As shown in Figure 2 , VRT and CRT significantly differed in the improvement of the maximum strength of the subjects (ES = 0.80; 95% CI: 0.42–1.19).…”

“…The meta-analysis conducted on the studies of only trained subjects showed that VRT favored a significantly higher improvement of maximum strength than CRT (ES = 0.57; 95% CI: 0.22–0.93; Figure 3 ) [ 8 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 32 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ]. Based on the VRT workload, we then subgrouped the studies into <80% and ≥80% 1RM.…”

“…However, CRT does not produce effective muscle stimulation over the entire range of motion because of the “sticking point” [ 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Variable-resistance training (VRT), also called accommodating-resistance training [ 8 ], uses an elastic band or chain and is an alternative training method to CRT. VRT facilitates different weight loads and helps to overcome the sticking point during resistance training.…”

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“…To participate in this study, 8 Wushu Kung Fu athletes and 8 male fighters were chosen. They were then divided into two groups: the group that used constant resistance and the group that used variable resistance with chains, for a period of four weeks, with three sessions per week (Ataee et al, 2014). During the specific training, all the participants performed 85% of their 1RM training in 3 sets with 5 repetitions and 2 minutes of rest between each series (Bomba & Haff, 2009).…”