Evaluating Upper-Body Strength and Power From a Single Test: The Ballistic Push-up

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Biomechanics
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Assessing upper-body strength and power is crucial in sports performance.
• Traditional strength tests like the 1 repetition maximum (1RM) bench press can be time-consuming and require specialized equipment.
• A single, reliable test to evaluate both strength and power would be highly beneficial for athletes and coaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the reliability of the ballistic push-up (BPU) exercise.
• To develop prediction models for 1RM bench press and upper-body power using BPU data.

Main Methods:

• Sixty recreationally active men participated in the study.
• Participants completed a 1RM bench press and two BPU assessments across three separate sessions.
• Measurements included force, rate of force development, impulse, velocity, flight time, and power during the BPU.

Main Results:

• The BPU demonstrated high reliability for all measured variables (Intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.849 to 0.971).
• A prediction equation was developed for 1RM bench press based on mean force (R = 0.837).
• Prediction equations for upper-body power were established using flight time (R = 0.658–0.664) and peak velocity (R = 0.797–0.838).

Conclusions:

• The ballistic push-up is a reliable and valid test for evaluating upper-body strength and power.
• The BPU can be used to predict 1RM bench press performance and upper-body power output.
• This exercise offers a practical, single-test solution for assessing key upper-body physical qualities.