Development of a field test for upper-body power

The purpose of this study was to develop a field test capable of measuring upper-body power through the use of a common weight-training apparatus, a Smith machine (SM), set up for bench press (BP) movement. A small, battery-operated digital timing device was designed and constructed to allow a precise calculation of power (in conjunction with measures of distance and force) for this specific movement, which involved an explosive press from the chest to a position just short of full arm extension. In pilot work, 1 repetition maximums (1RM) were determined on the SM BP for 3 male subjects, and by subsequently testing power on the same subjects at varying resistances, an average relative percentage of the 1RM-producing peak power values was found by power curve analysis for test standardization. Reliability was assessed (using 11 men) by SM power measurements taken over 3 days on the SM fitted with the timer. An intraclass R (0.998) indicated a high correlation between the 3 separate field-test trials. Finally, 8 male subjects were used to compare SM scores with a criterion measure, the Linea Isokinetic BP station (Loredan Biomedical, Inc., Sacramento CA). A Pearson product moment coefficient found a high correlation between the field test (SM) and Linea power scores (r = 0.987). A 2-tailed dependent t-test between the field and criterion scores was not significant, suggesting that no consistent error variable was present. It can be concluded that this is a valid field test of power for this movement.