Velocity Specific Adaptations to Three Widely Used Strength Training Methods: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Aim: We examined bench press adaptations to three widely used strength training methods; maximal strength training (MST), hypertrophy training (HT) and explosive strength training (EST). To reflect how these methods are typically applied by practitioners, MST and EST were volume matched, whereas HT were performed at higher volume.

Methods: Sixty-three moderately trained subjects (32 males; 31 females) were randomized into 8 weeks of MST, HT, EST or control (CON), 3 sessions/week. MST performed 4 x 4 repetitions bench press at ≥85% of 1RM. HT performed 3 x 8-12 repetitions at ∼70-80% of 1RM. EST performed 4 x 6-7 repetitions bench press throws at 40% of 1RM. Maximal-, explosive- and endurance strength characteristics were assessed, as well as muscle hypertrophy.

Results: 1RM increased more after MST (+21.5%) and HT (+17.9%) compared to EST (+5.9%) and CON (all p ≤ 0.001). Rate of force development (RFD) at 50% of 1RM increased more after MST (+58.4%) than EST (+27.1%, p ≤ 0.01) and CON (p ≤ 0.01), and more after HT (+38.9%) than CON (p ≤ 0.01). Mean propulsive velocity (MPV) increased more after MST compared to CON across all loads (20-80% of 1RM), and more than EST at 80% (p ≤ 0.001), 60% (p ≤ 0.01), with a strong tendency at 40% of 1RM (p = 0.053). Δ1RM correlated with ΔMPV at all loads of the L-v profile (r = 0.40-0.56, p ≤ 0.001).

Conclusions: MST and HT were more effective than EST for improving maximal and explosive strength performance against moderate and high loads. At low loads, EST was not more effective than MST and HT, despite high degree of velocity specificity. Changes in muscle strength appear to be more important than velocity specificity to increase performance across the L-v profile.