Date of Award

2016

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Awarded

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences

College

Human Sciences and Education

Faculty Advisor

Hackney, Kyle

Description

Calisthenics, a form of resistance training, continue to increase in popularity; however, few studies have examined their effectiveness for muscle strength improvement. The purpose of this study was to compare progressive calisthenic push-up training (PUSH) to free weight bench press training (BENCH) as techniques to develop muscle strength and thickness. Twenty-three healthy, moderately trained males (mean ± SD: age 23 ± 6.8 years) were randomly assigned to PUSH (n=14) and BENCH (n=9), and trained three days per week for four weeks. Muscle thickness, seated medicine ball put, one repetition max bench press (1RM), and push-up progression (PUP) were measured pre- and post-training. Results revealed significant increases in 1RM (p<0.001) and PUP (p<0.05) for both groups post-training. The increase in PUP, however, was significantly greater for PUSH (p<0.001). This study is the first to demonstrate that calisthenics, using different progressive variations to maintain training principles, can improve upper body muscle strength.

Rights

NDSU Policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/28060

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