Time course of recovery is similar for the back squat, bench press, and deadlift in well-trained males

Belcher, Daniel J.; Sousa, Colby A.; Carzoli, Joseph P.; Johnson, Trevor K.; Helms, Eric R.; Visavadiya, Nishant P.; Zoeller, Robert F.; Whitehurst, Michael; Zourdos, Michael C.

doi:10.1139/apnm-2019-0004

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Nonetheless, it is possible the 1-week step taper did not provide sufficient recovery time for some athletes following the planned overreach week, particularly for deadlift. Interestingly, back squat, bench press, and deadlift exhibit similar recovery patterns in strength-trained males following four sets of each lift performed to failure using 80% 1RM (Belcher et al, 2019), and eight sets of two repetitions of back squat and deadlift performed at 95%1RM (Barnes et al, 2019). Nonetheless, these studies did not examine the cumulative effects of repeated training sessions on deadlift performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Skeletal Muscle Adaptations and Performance Outcomes Following a Step and Exponential Taper in Strength Athletes

et al. 2021

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Before major athletic events, a taper is often prescribed to facilitate recovery and enhance performance. However, it is unknown which taper model is most effective for peaking maximal strength and positively augmenting skeletal muscle. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare performance outcomes and skeletal muscle adaptations following a step vs. an exponential taper in strength athletes. Sixteen powerlifters (24.0 ± 4.0 years, 174.4 ± 8.2 cm, 89.8 ± 21.4 kg) participated in a 6-week training program aimed at peaking maximal strength on back squat [initial 1-repetition-maximum (1RM): 174.7 ± 33.4 kg], bench press (118.5 ± 29.9 kg), and deadlift (189.9 ± 41.2 kg). Powerlifters were matched based on relative maximal strength, and randomly assigned to either (a) 1-week overreach and 1-week step taper or (b) 1-week overreach and 3-week exponential taper. Athletes were tested pre- and post-training on measures of body composition, jumping performance, isometric squat, and 1RM. Whole muscle size was assessed at the proximal, middle, and distal vastus lateralis using ultrasonography and microbiopsies at the middle vastus lateralis site. Muscle samples (n = 15) were analyzed for fiber size, fiber type [myosin-heavy chain (MHC)-I, -IIA, -IIX, hybrid-I/IIA] using whole muscle immunohistochemistry and single fiber dot blots, gene expression, and microRNA abundance. There were significant main time effects for 1RM squat (p < 0.001), bench press (p < 0.001), and deadlift, (p = 0.024), powerlifting total (p < 0.001), Wilks Score (p < 0.001), squat jump peak-power scaled to body mass (p = 0.001), body mass (p = 0.005), fat mass (p = 0.002), and fat mass index (p = 0.002). There were significant main time effects for medial whole muscle cross-sectional area (mCSA) (p = 0.006) and averaged sites (p < 0.001). There was also a significant interaction for MHC-IIA fiber cross-sectional area (fCSA) (p = 0.014) with post hoc comparisons revealing increases following the step-taper only (p = 0.002). There were significant main time effects for single-fiber MHC-I% (p = 0.015) and MHC-IIA% (p = 0.033), as well as for MyoD (p = 0.002), MyoG (p = 0.037), and miR-499a (p = 0.033). Overall, increases in whole mCSA, fCSA, MHC-IIA fCSA, and MHC transitions appeared to favor the step taper group. An overreach followed by a step taper appears to produce a myocellular environment that enhances skeletal muscle adaptations, whereas an exponential taper may favor neuromuscular performance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Skeletal Muscle Adaptations and Performance Outcomes Following a Step and Exponential Taper in Strength Athletes

et al. 2021

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“…The deadlift may be completely removed and not trained for 1-2 weeks leading into a competition [35][36][37]. While recent studies suggest that recovery times are similar between back squat, bench press, and deadlift [66,67], the actual tapering practices of high-level strength athletes disagree [35][36][37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tapering and Peaking Maximal Strength for Powerlifting Performance: A Review

Travis

Mujika

Gentles

et al. 2020

Sports

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Prior to major competitions, athletes often use a peaking protocol such as tapering or training cessation to improve performance. The majority of the current literature has focused on endurance-based sports such as swimming, cycling, and running to better understand how and when to taper or use training cessation to achieve the desired performance outcome. However, evidence regarding peaking protocols for strength and power athletes is lacking. Current limitations for peaking maximal strength is that many studies do not provide sufficient details for practitioners to use. Thus, when working with athletes such as powerlifters, weightlifters, throwers, and strongman competitors, practitioners must use trial and error to determine the best means for peaking rather than using an evidence-based protocol. More specifically, determining how to peak maximal strength using data derived from strength and power athletes has not been established. While powerlifting training (i.e., back squat, bench press, deadlift) is used by strength and power athletes up until the final days prior to a competition, understanding how to peak maximal strength relative to powerlifting performance is still unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study was to review the literature on tapering and training cessation practices relative to peaking powerlifting performance.

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“…Thus, ongoing research may also benefit from modeling anthropometric changes with strength improvements over time or to distinguish between individuals who may adapt more rapidly. In addition, given research has investigated acute responses to upper- and lower-body tasks ( 7 , 47 ) we suggest it is also worth investigating differences in strength adaption between the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Nevertheless, the results presented in this study provide a realistic representation of “real-world” strength adaptations outside of an interventional research setting.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Strength Adaptation: A 15-Year Analysis of Powerlifting Athletes

Latella

Teo

Spathis

et al. 2020

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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Latella, C, Teo, W-P, Spathis, J, and van den Hoek, D. Long-term strength adaptation: A 15-year analysis of powerlifting athletes. J Strength Cond Res 34(9): 2412–2418, 2020—Strength is a fundamental component of athletic performance and development. This investigation examined the long-term strength development of powerlifting (PL) athletes. The rate of strength gain/day was assessed in 1897 PL athletes (F = 626, M = 1,271) over a 15-year period (2003–2018). Independent T-tests explored sex differences in baseline absolute (kg) and relative strength (kg·body mass −1 [bm]) recorded from the first competition, and strength gain/day (kg·d −1 ). Analyses based on initial strength quartiles were conducted using one-way analysis of variances with significance set at p < 0.05. Bivariate correlational analysis tested for relationships between strength gain/day and baseline strength, the number of competitions, and mean days between competitions. Males had greater absolute (M: 513.3 ± 99.8 kg, F: 289.4 ± 55.7 kg, p < 0.001) and relative (M: 5.89 ± 1.04 kg·bm −1 , F: 4.27 ± 0.85 kg·bm −1 , p < 0.001) strength at baseline. Overall, strength gain/day (F: 0.12 ± 0.69 kg·d −1 , M: 0.15 ± 0.44 kg·d −1 , p = 0.318) was similar between sexes. However, the strongest males showed a lower rate of strength improvement (0.102 kg·d −1 ) compared with least strong males (0.211 kg·d −1 ), p = 0.010. No differences were observed across quartiles for females. Correlational analyses revealed significant but weak negative relationships between strength gain/day and the mean days between competitions for females ( r 2 = −0.120, p = 0.003) and males ( r 2 = −0.190, p < 0.001). Similar relationships were observed for baseline strength ( r 2 = −0.073, p = 0.009) and the number of competitions ( r 2 = −0.111, p < 0.001) for males. The results suggest similar strength adaptation between sexes. The strongest males improve more slowly, possibly due to a ceiling effect. Collectively, the findings provide novel evidence of real-world long-term strength adaptations that may be particularly useful to understand athlete development, to aid periodized programming, and to benchmark strength over time.

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Time course of recovery is similar for the back squat, bench press, and deadlift in well-trained males

Cited by 17 publications

References 34 publications

Skeletal Muscle Adaptations and Performance Outcomes Following a Step and Exponential Taper in Strength Athletes

Skeletal Muscle Adaptations and Performance Outcomes Following a Step and Exponential Taper in Strength Athletes

Tapering and Peaking Maximal Strength for Powerlifting Performance: A Review

Long-Term Strength Adaptation: A 15-Year Analysis of Powerlifting Athletes

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