Traditional Vs. Suspended Push-up Muscle Activation In Collegiate Female Soccer Players And Gymnasts

Abstract

Many strength training programs incorporate push-up exercises, which primarily activate upper body muscles. Past data supports the fact that shoulder girdle muscles [i.e., triceps (T) and anterior deltoids (AD)] exhibit greater electromyography (EMG) activity when a push-up is performed on a stable [i.e., traditional (TD)] vs. unstable [(i.e., suspended (SP)] surface (Andrade, 2011). While greater muscle activation has been shown for healthy males (Sandhu, 2008), male athletes (Willardson, 2010), sedentary individuals (Syed, 2014), and lower body trained athletes (Syed, 2013) very little research has been conducted on T and AD muscle activation in whole body trained athletes (e.g. gymnasts) PURPOSE: To determine if differences exist in muscle activation between push-ups in a TD vs. SP environment in collegiate gymnasts (GM) vs. collegiate female soccer players (SO). METHODS: Nine apparently healthy GM (Ht: 162.1±2.6 cm; Wt: 64.6±6.7 kg) and 24 SO (Ht: 164.8±7.6 cm; Wt: 61.7±8.4 kg) participated voluntarily. In a single session participants performed three consecutive TD and three consecutive SP push-ups, in a counterbalanced fashion with three minutes rest between trials. A repeated measures analysis was conducted using SPSS (v22) to analyze the difference between the T and AD muscle activation within and between the two push-up positions. RESULTS: Analyses were conducted using the absolute integral, which measured electrical activity from a standardized baseline. Significantly higher muscle activation was observed for SP compared to TD push-ups within the SO (T: 181.1±227.9mV, p=0.001; AD: 219.1±320.5mV, p=0.003) but not in the GM (T: 82.3±692.5mV, p=0.731; AD: 132.1±216.7mV, p=0.105) group. CONCLUSIONS: The significant increase in muscle activation can primarily be attributed to the lack of hand stability in the SP position. While the SO participants in this study are well trained, their regimen primarily activates lower body muscles compared to GM subjects who are whole body trained. These findings provide further support that well-trained athletes exhibit increased activation in muscles that are not part of their primary sport focus. Moreover, performing SP push-ups can effectively increase T and AD activation, primarily in lower body trained athletes.