Citation

Luebbers PE, Buckingham G, Butler MS. Percept. Mot. Skills 2017; 124(3): 634-648.

Affiliation

Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, Emporia State University, Emporia, KS, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0031512517697071

PMID

28347219

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test reports that size and arrangement manipulations of weight plates (i.e., inducing a size-weight illusion [SWI]) would have an effect on athletic weightlifting performance. The participants were 72 experienced, weight-trained collegiate American football players. Across 3 weeks, each athlete performed three different repetitions-to-fatigue bench press tests (NFL-225, SWI-225, and SWI-215). A multiple regression revealed a positive association between participants' strength relative to the test load and repetitions for NFL-225 and SWI-215, but no association with SWI-225. To explore these results, players were ranked into quartiles based on their one-repetition maximum relative to 102.27 kg (225 lb), and a 3 × 4 repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted. The primary finding was a significant Test Condition × Quartile interaction ( p = .004). Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons revealed that Quartile 4 (those with lowest strength relative to test load) completed more repetitions for SWI-225 compared with NFL-225 ( p = .049). These results suggest that alternate weight plate arrangements may be beneficial for those whose bench press load is near the lifter's one-repetition maximum. However, variations of the SWI do not appear to affect the performance of repetitions-to-fatigue bench press tests for the majority of collegiate American football players.

Language: en

Keywords

athlete; muscular endurance; muscular strength; performance testing; visual perception