Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Publish Ahead of Print

DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001832

Evaluating Upper-Body Strength and Power from a Single Test: The Ballistic Push-Up

Ran Wang1, Jay R. Hoffman1, *, Eliahu Sadres1, 2, Sandro Bartolomei1, Tyler W.D. Muddle1,

David H. Fukuda1 and Jeffrey R. Stout1

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Institute of Exercise Physiology & Wellness, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

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The Nat Holman School for Coaches and Instructors, Wingate Institute for Physical Education

and Sport, Netanya, Israel

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*Corresponding author: Jay R. Hoffman, Ph.D.

Institute of Exercise Physiology and Wellness,

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University of Central Florida

Orlando, FL, 32816

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[email protected]

Tel: 407:823-1272
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Copyright ª 2017 National Strength and Conditioning Association

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability of the ballistic push-up (BPU)

exercise, and to develop a prediction model for both maximal strength (1RM) in the bench press

exercise and upper body power. Methods: Sixty recreationally-active men completed a 1RM

bench press and two BPU assessments in three separate testing sessions. Peak and mean force,

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peak and mean rate of force development, net impulse, peak velocity, flight time, and peak and

mean power were determined. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to examine the

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reliability of the BPU. Stepwise linear regression was used to develop 1RM bench press and

power prediction equations. Results: ICC’s ranged from 0.849-0.971 for the BPU measurements.

Multiple regression analysis provided the following 1RM bench press prediction equation:
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1RM=0.31×Mean Force-1.64×Body mass+0.70 (R2=0.837, SEE=11 kg); time-based power

prediction equation: Peak Power=11.0×Body Mass+2012.3×Flight Time–338.0 (R2=0.658,

SEE=150 W), Mean Power=6.7×Body Mass+1004.4×Flight Time–224.6 (R2=0.664, SEE=82

W); and velocity-based power prediction equation: Peak Power=8.1×Body Mass+818.6×Peak

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Velocity–762.0 (R2=0.797, SEE=115 W); Mean Power=5.2×Body Mass+435.9×Peak Velocity–

467.7 (R2=0.838, SEE=57 W). Conclusions: The BPU is a reliable test for both upper-body
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strength and power. Results indicate that the mean force generated from the BPU can be used to

predict 1RM bench press, while peak velocity and flight time measured during the BPU can be
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used to predict upper-body power. These findings support the potential use of the BPU as a valid

method to evaluate upper-body strength and power.

Key Words: Exercise Test, Athletic Performance, Force-time Curve

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Introduction

Both muscular strength and power are important components of athletic performance, and a

robust relationship exists between them (31). Muscular strength can be described as the ability of

a muscle or group of muscles to produce force. Muscular power is usually expressed as

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movements involving both strength and velocity factors. The determination of maximal muscular

power originates from the force-velocity relationship proposed by Hill (13), who found that an

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isolated muscle contracts at a velocity inversely proportional to the load. Muscular strength and

power are major determinants for many explosive, short duration sporting events (2).

Consequently, the assessment of muscular strength and power is imperative for training program
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design and talent identification purposes.

One of the most traditional methods for determining maximal muscular strength is the

one repetition maximum (1RM) lift (14). The 1RM squat and bench press are the most frequently
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used field tests for assessing lower and upper body strength, respectively. However, time

constraints and maximal testing for untrained individuals may limit the use of 1RM testing in
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large population groups (33). Mayhew et al. (23) examined the relationship between the number

of push-ups completed during one minute and 1RM bench press. They found that the number of
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push-ups performed was not an accurate reflection of upper body strength in young men. This is

not surprising considering that the greater the number of repetitions performed is more indicative

of muscular endurance than strength and/or power. Recently, researchers proposed that a

maximal effort, dynamic push-up could be a reliable measure of upper body power (15).

Considering the relationship between strength and power, the estimation of strength based on a

maximal effort push-up is possible.

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 To date, the focus of muscular power testing has been directed to the lower body, with

the squat jump and countermovement jump being the primary methods (32). Precise estimation

of power often needs sophisticated equipment such as force plates in order to capture the force-

time curve, which impedes its use outside of a laboratory. As such, many investigations

attempted to estimate vertical jump power from variables such as jump height (1, 6, 30). The

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Lewis formula was the first prediction equation proposed to estimate lower body power from a

vertical jump (12, 22)._ENREF_8 Power is calculated from the body mass of the participant, and

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the velocity determined from the jump height. Subsequently, investigations using multiple linear

regression analysis developed several power prediction equations that were derived from jump

height and body mass (1, 6, 30). Jump height was initially measured from a jump-and-reach test

(12), but it can also be calculated from flight time using a contact mat. Over the past few years,
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technology such as linear position transducers, accelerometers and video analysis had been used

to measure the mean and peak velocity during the vertical jump (3, 10, 29), which can also be

used to estimate vertical jump power.

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There has been only a limited number of investigations that have focused on the

evaluation of upper body muscular power. Two common tests are the seated medicine ball throw
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(8) and the bench press throw (7). However, there are limitations for each of these assessments.

During the seated medicine ball throw, the weight of the ball selected is somewhat arbitrary (8).
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In regards to the bench press throw, it is generally performed in a Smith machine with at least

two spotters required to ensure safety, or performed in a specially designed device which can be

alternatively used to decelerate the barbell during the downward phase (21). Theoretically, the

same approach used in vertical jump testing could also allow for the estimation of upper-body

power via an upper body movement such as the ballistic push-up (BPU). The BPU is similar to

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the vertical jump with regards to a need to overcome the force of gravity exerted on body mass

and maximizing force production in a short period of time. To the best of our knowledge, there

are no studies that are known that have investigated this concept. Therefore, the purpose of this

study was to examine the reliability of the BPU, and to develop a prediction model for both

maximal strength in the bench press exercise and upper body power.

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Methods

Experimental Approach to the Problem

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A cross-sectional design was employed. All study participants reported to the Human

Performance Laboratory (HPL) on four separate occasions. During the first visit, participants

were familiarized with the BPU. During the following three visits, participants completed a one
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repetition maximal strength (1RM) in the bench press exercise and two BPU assessments in a

random order. In an attempt to eliminate the potential for reduced performance, the participants

were asked to refrain from any strenuous physical activity for the previous 48 hours prior to each
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HPL visit.

Participants
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Eighty-four recreationally-active men who had a mixed athletic background (weightlifting,

basketball, soccer, etc.) and were familiar with resistance training volunteered to participate in
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this investigation. Sixty participants (age: 24.5 ± 4.3 y; height: 1.75 ± 0.07 m; body mass: 80.8 ±

13.5 kg) completed all testing and their data was included in the final data analysis. The study

was approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board. Testing procedures were fully

explained to each participant before obtaining written informed consent from each participant.

Copyright ª 2017 National Strength and Conditioning Association

Maximal Strength Testing

1RM bench press test was performed using methods previously described by Hoffman (14). Prior

to beginning the test, each participant completed a general warm-up that included dynamic

movements and 5 minutes of cycling exercise. Each participant then performed two warm-up

sets using a resistance that was approximately 40 - 60% and 60 - 80% of their estimated 1RM,

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respectively. The third set was the first attempt at the participant’s 1RM. If the set was

successfully completed, then weight was added and another set was attempted. If the set was not

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successfully completed, then the weight was reduced and another set was attempted. A 3-5

minute rest period was provided between each set. The process of adding and removing weight

was continued until a 1RM was reached. Attempts that did not meet the range of motion criterion
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for each exercise, as determined by the researcher, were discarded. The participants were

required to lower the bar to their chest before initiating concentric movement. Their grip widths

were measured and recorded for later use. All testing was completed under the supervision of a

certified strength and conditioning specialist.

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The Ballistic Push-Up Testing

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Participants completed the same warm-up procedure as used for the 1RM bench press. Following

the warm-up, participants were instructed to adopt a prone position on the force plate
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(AccuPower, AMTI, Watertown, USA). Participants were also instructed to place their hands in

a similar position (e.g., regarding distance apart) as they used during performance of the 1RM

bench press. Participants were then asked to move into the starting position by lowering

themselves until their chest made contact with the force plate, while keeping their body straight.

They were instructed to pause at this position to eliminate the artificial force peak. Once stable in

the starting position, participants were then instructed to push as explosively as possible to full

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arm extension and achieve as much height as possible with hands leaving the force plate and land

with arms slightly bended.

Data Processing

The vertical force-time data for each BPU trial was recorded with a sample rate of 1,000 Hz and

then processed using a customized MATLAB (The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, USA) script. As

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shown in Figure 1, the initial weight was determined from the stable phase in the starting

position. Peak force and mean force was defined as the highest and average force achieved

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during the concentric phase of the push-up movement, respectively. The rate of force

development (RFD) was then calculated from the following equation: RFD = ∆Force / ∆Time.

The peak RFD was determined as the highest rate of change in force determined across a 20ms
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sampling window. The mean RFD was determined as the average rate of change in force from

the initiation of the push-up movement to the moment of peak force. The net impulse was

defined as the area under the force-time curve for values greater than the initial weight within the

concentric phase of the push-up movement. Peak velocity was defined as the highest velocity
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resulted from the accumulation of force over time. Flight time was defined as the time in the air

and determined from the vertical force-time data. Peak power and mean power was defined as
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the highest and average power output resulted from the impulse-momentum relationship, as
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described previously (9).

**Insert Figure 1 here**

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Statistical Analysis

The Shapiro-Wilk test was conducted to test normality of each variable. To determine reliability

of the BPU, a test-retest reliability analysis was performed using a two-way random (type,

absolute agreement) intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) calculated for variables recorded

during the separate testing sessions. ICC values higher than 0.75 were considered acceptable (25).

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Standard error of measurement (SEM) was also calculated. Pearson product-moment correlations

were calculated between 1RM bench press, body mass, and the BPU measures. Interpretation of

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the correlation coefficients were based upon criteria published by Hopkins et al. (16), indicating

that r values of 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 represent small, moderate, large, very large and

extremely large relationships, respectively.

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The variables (derived from the first BPU testing) which significantly correlated with

1RM bench press were used to develop the 1RM bench press prediction equation via linear

regression with stepwise method. Similarly, body mass and flight time were used to derive the

time-based prediction equation for peak and mean power, while body mass and peak velocity
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were used to derive the velocity-based prediction equation for peak and mean power. To develop

these prediction equations, a 2/3 split of the data with 40 participants were randomly assigned to
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the fitting sample. The goodness of fit and precision of the regression equation was evaluated

using a multiple coefficient of determination (R2) and the standard error of the estimate (SEE).
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The remaining 20 participants was used as the validation sample, and their data was applied to

the prediction equations to calculate predicted values, which were then compared with the actual

measurements via paired samples t-tests.

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 These prediction equations were further validated based on the evaluation of the criterion

kinetic-based power measurement versus the power predictions via calculations of the validity

coefficient (r), constant error (CE), SEE, and total error (TE). 95% limits of agreement (LOA)

were also calculated between the kinetic-based measurement and both predictions, according to

the procedures described by Bland & Altman (5). A p value less than 0.05 was considered

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statistically significant for all the statistical analysis. All data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0

(IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Data are presented as mean ± SD.

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Results

Reliability of the BPU measurements

To quantify the relationship between the BPU variables achieved during both trials, ICC values
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were calculated for the entire sample size. The ICC for peak force, mean force, peak RFD, mean

RFD, net impulse, peak velocity, flight time, peak power and mean power can be observed in

Table 1.
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**Insert Table 1 here**

Relationship between 1RM bench press, body mass, and the BPU measurements
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Pearson correlation coefficients between 1RM bench press and body mass, peak force, mean

force, peak RFD, mean RFD, net impulse, peak velocity, flight time, peak power and mean
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power were 0.718, 0.847, 0.859, 0.654, 0.637, 0.823, 0.465, 0.240, 0.745 and 0.744, respectively

(all p < 0.001 except for flight time, which was p = 0.065). In addition, the relationship between

flight time and peak (r = 0.565) and mean (r = 0.521) power, as well as between body mass and

peak (r = 0.560) and mean (r = 0.602) power, were all categorized as large correlations, while the

relationship between peak velocity and peak (r = 0.794) and mean (r = 0.789) power were all

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categorized as very large correlations. Moreover, flight time significantly (p < 0.001) correlated

with peak velocity (r = 0.656).

Upper-body strength prediction equation

As indicated by the results of stepwise regression, body mass and mean force were selected to

construct the prediction equation for 1RM bench press. The following prediction equation for

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1RM bench press was generated: 1RM = 0.31 × Mean Force - 1.64 × Body mass + 0.70 (R2 =

0.837, SEE = 11 kg). Paired samples t-tests on the validation sample showed no significant (p =

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0.897) difference between the measured (109.3 ± 26.3 kg) and predicted (109.0 ± 24.0 kg) 1RM

bench press. Results from the validity analysis including validity coefficient, CE, SEE, TE, and

slope and intercept of the linear fit line derived from results of the validation analysis are
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depicted in Table 2.

Upper-body power prediction equation

The following time-based prediction equations were generated: Peak Power = 11.0 × Body Mass
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+ 2012.3 × Flight Time – 338.0 (R2=0.658, SEE=150 W); Mean Power = 6.7 × Body Mass +

1004.4 × Flight Time – 224.6 (R2 = 0.664, SEE = 82 W). The following velocity-based
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prediction equations were generated: Peak Power = 8.1 × Body Mass + 818.6 × Peak Velocity -

762.0 (R2 = 0.797, SEE = 115 W); Mean Power = 5.2 × Body Mass + 435.9 × Peak Velocity –
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467.7 (R2 = 0.838, SEE = 57 W).

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 Paired samples t-tests on the validation sample showed that the kinetic-based peak and

mean power measurements (1012.7 ± 266.6 and 572.7 ± 158.1 W, respectively) were not

significantly (p = 0.286–0.701) different from the predicted peak and mean power values yielded

from the initial time-based (1031.5 ± 221.6 and 564.1 ± 119.6 W, respectively) and velocity-

based (1034.7 ± 237.7 and 566.5 ± 131.9 W, respectively) prediction equations.

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The scatter plots between the measured and predicted peak and mean power from the

final set of prediction equations can be observed in Figure 2. Results from the validity analysis

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including validity coefficient, CE, SEE, TE, and slope and intercept of the linear fit line derived

from results of the validation analysis are depicted in Table 2.

**Insert Figure 2 and Table 2 here**

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Bland-Altman plots between the measured and predicted peak and mean power from the

prediction equations are also depicted in Figure 2. The 95% LOA ranged from -297.1 to 237.0 W

and -168.5 to 170.5 W between the kinetic-based and time-based peak and mean power
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assessments, and -191.7 to 151.8 W and -90.2 to 103.1 W between kinetic-based and velocity-

based peak and mean power assessments. The regression line indicated that the time-based
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prediction equation tended to underestimated peak and mean power at lower values and

overestimated these measures at higher values, with a trend of positive correlation for both peak
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(r = 0.413; p = 0.070) and mean (r = 0.438; p = 0.053) power. No correlational relationship

existed for velocity-based peak (r = 0.228; p = 0.335) and mean (r = 0.345; p = 0.136) power

prediction.

**Insert Figure 2 here**

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Discussion

The results of this study indicated that the BPU is a reliable assessment, and that performance

measures obtained from the BPU were significantly correlated with the 1RM bench press.

Performance in the BPU explained 83.7% of the total variance in the 1RM bench press, and the

regression equation developed from body mass and mean force appears to provide an alternative

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to the 1RM bench press for assessing upper body strength. Our study also demonstrated that

differences in flight time, peak velocity, and body mass were related to differences in peak and

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mean power output, providing the rationale for the use of these variables (i.e., flight time and

peak velocity) as predictors of peak and mean power. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated

that both prediction equations produced very good estimates of peak and mean power from the
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BPU. In time-based prediction equations, body mass and flight time explained 65.8% and 66.4%

of the variation in peak and mean power, respectively. As for velocity-based prediction equations,

body mass and peak velocity explained 79.7% and 83.8% of the variation in peak and mean

power, respectively. Furthermore, the SEE of velocity-based peak (115 W) and mean (57 W)
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power predictions appeared to be smaller than that of time-based predictions (150 W for peak

power and 82 W for mean power), indicating that velocity-based estimations were more precise
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than velocity-based estimations.

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The reliability of the BPU appeared to be excellent, especially for peak force, mean force,

net impulse, peak power and mean power, meaning that the measurement error is smaller than

the individual variability, further suggesting that measurement error has a very limited effect.

The ICC’s reported in this study also appeared to be greater than that previously reported by

Hrysomallis and Kidgell (17). In their investigation, they recruited 12 untrained men to perform

explosive push-ups and reported ICC’s of 0.841 and 0.908 for peak and mean force, respectively,

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which were all less than that observed in the present study. In addition, they reported ICC’s of

0.865 and 0.958 for mean RFD and impulse, respectively, which were both similar to our results.

Our results are also supported by Koch et al. (19), who investigated ground reaction force

patterns during plyometric push-ups of varying heights, and found ICC’s ranging from 0.705 -

0.970 for peak force and 0.904 - 0.964 for mean RFD. Hogarth (15) examined the test-retest

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reliability of BPU in 14 rugby league players, and reported an ICC of 0.80 (95% CI, 0.37–0.94)

for peak force, 0.84 (95% CI, 0.50-0.95) for RFD, and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.54–0.95) for mean force

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and net impulse, all lower than the current study. The large margin of error in their study was

likely due to the small sample size. In comparison, our ICC data were calculated from a

relatively large sample size of 60 participants.

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There have been several other studies that have predicted upper body strength from

repeated push-ups. Dean et al. (11) published the first predictive equation using the product of

push-up repetitions and body mass (R2 = 0.74, SEE = 6.3 kg). In contrast to this study, in which

we used a free weight 1RM Olympic barbell bench press to assess maximal strength, the study
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by Dean et al. (11) employed a universal gym machine to test 1RM bench press. A subsequent

study by Mayhew et al. (23) explored the relationship between an Olympic barbell 1RM bench
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press and the product of push-up repetitions and body mass. They reported a significant, positive

relationship (R2 = 0.50, SEE = 15.7 kg) between 1RM bench press and the product of push-up
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repetitions and body mass. However, others have reported that the YMCA bench press test is

more effective for predicting the 1RM bench press (R2 = 0.86, SEE = 6.0 kg) than push-up

repetitions and body mass (R2 = 0.56, SEE = 10.6 kg) (18). A recent study examined the

relationship between an isometric bench press with the elbows at 90 degrees of extension and

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1RM bench press (4). Although a very large positive relationship (R2 = 0.86, SEE = 12.8 kg) was

reported, no cross-validation procedure was conducted.

Several studies have proposed that the BPU could be used as an assessment tool for upper

body muscular power (15, 17). However, instead of power, only impulse, peak force, mean force,

and mean RFD were measured in these studies. This is probably due to the fact that there is no

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commonly accepted criterion method for upper body power assessment. The current study

calculated muscular power of the BPU using the force-time curve and impulse-momentum

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relationship. The results (ICC = 0.936 and 0.934 for PP and MP, respectively) indicated that the

BPU was a reliable test for the upper body power assessment. Considering the close relationship

between strength and power (31), we examined the relationship between power calculations and
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the 1RM bench press. We demonstrated that both peak and mean power were significantly

correlated with the 1RM bench press (r = 0.824 and 0.797, respectively). This was consistent

with results previously reported by Stone et al. (31), indicating that the correlation coefficient

between maximal strength and static squat power ranged from 0.750 to 0.938, depending on the
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relative load. Young et al. (34) examined the reliability of the bench press throw in 24 male

athletes (relative 1RM bench press: 1.17 ± 0.25 kg/kg body mass) by using 45% of 1RM bench
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press, and reported an ICC of 0.890 for peak power. The peak power reported (836 ± 188 W)

was lower than that observed in the present study (939 ± 257 W). This was likely related to
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participants of the current study being stronger and heavier. Our results appear to be similar to

those reported by Clemons et al. (8) who compared the mean power output between the bench

press with an absolute load of 61.4 kg and a seated medicine ball throw with a 9 kg medicine ball

(521 ± 154 W vs. 538 ± 192 W, respectively).

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 Previous studies examining power prediction were primarily focused on using the vertical

jump height for estimation of lower-body power. Harman et al. (12) tested 17 men on the squat

jump and reported an R2 of 0.88 and 0.77 for peak and mean power, respectively. Their findings

were similar to what we found for velocity-based predictions (R2 = 0.80 and 0.84, respectively),

and higher than the time-based predictions (R2 = 0.66 and 0.66, respectively). Sayers et al. (30)

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established peak power prediction equations for squat jump with a R2 value of 0.88 and a SEE of

372.9 W. We found a SEE of 150 and 115 W for time-based and velocity-based peak power

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prediction in our study. A possible explanation for this discrepancy may be related to the greater

power output observed during the vertical jump than the BPU. When comparing the percentage

of SEE accounted for the mean actual measurement of peak power, our results showed an SEE%

of 15.64% and 11.04% for time-based and velocity-based peak power prediction, which was
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higher than the result of 9.71% from the study by Sayers et al. (30).

The SEE represents the error between the prediction and actual measurement, while the

TE combines the error associated with CE and SEE, and therefore provides more information
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regarding prediction accuracy. It has been suggested that valid predictions exhibit similar SEE

and TE (20). In our study, the TE was similar to the SEE for all time-based and velocity-based
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peak and mean power outputs. Examination of the Bland-Altman plots revealed systematic

biases only for time-based, but not velocity-based peak and mean power. The 95% LOA for both
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time-based and velocity-based peak power were considerably lower than that reported by

Amonette et al. (1), but similar to the results of Quagliarella et al. (26). Similarly, the 95% LOA

for both time-based and velocity-based mean power were markedly smaller than previous

findings (26). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that there was a trend of systematic bias

for time-based peak and mean power, as they underestimated the power at low levels and

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overestimated it at high levels. However, the bias for velocity-based peak and mean power was

not significantly different from zero.

The results of the Bland-Altman analysis agreed with the validation analysis, and further

demonstrated that velocity-based power prediction equations were more accurate than time-

based power prediction equations. As previously discussed, time-based predictions rely on the

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measurement of flight time or jump height, which could be used to calculate take-off velocity.

Such measurements have been criticized for the lack of direct theoretical connection to the power

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produced during the concentric phase of the vertical jump (12). In contrast from a time-based

approach, velocity-based predictions are based on the direct measurement of peak velocity from

the propulsive phase, which is the most important phase in explosive movements (28). As
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depicted in Figure 1, the concentric phase of both the vertical jump and ballistic push-up could

be divided into the propulsive and braking stages. Peak velocity is achieved at the start of the

braking stage. The moment of take-off falls within this braking stage, and therefore take-off

velocity is slower than peak velocity. Although flight time or jump height could be used to
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estimate take-off velocity, the difference between take-off velocity and peak velocity should not

be neglected. These differences vary significantly between individuals, and even between trials
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related to influencing factors such as leg (vertical jump) or arm (push-up) length (24, 27). This

was confirmed by the correlation coefficient (0.656) between flight time and peak velocity,
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which indicated that only 43% of the variance in peak velocity could be explained by the change

in flight time or take-off velocity.

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 Although we eliminated the countermovement phase to reduce the variation resulting

from a stretch-shortening cycle, we failed to normalize the hand position for the BPU. Therefore,

variations in technique may still play a role in influencing the accuracy of power predictions. A

limitation of this study is that grip width was not standardized, though the same grip width from

1RM bench press test was used for the BPU test. To eliminate the potential effect of differences

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in grip width, shoulder width should be measured and used for standardization purposes. Besides

that, future research is required to determine if these prediction equations could be used to

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accurately track changes in strength and power during a training intervention in both men and

women.

Practical Applications
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The proposed upper body performance testing protocol measures both muscular strength and

power from a single test. The use of the BPU may be most appropriate when time and equipment

are limited, especially in large group assessments. As for athletes, the non-fatiguing nature of the

BPU may allow it to be routinely used to monitor recovery or changes in muscular strength and
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power during the course of a competitive season or prolonged training cycle.

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This study also indicated that both time-based and velocity-based methods could be used

to predict upper-body power from the BPU, with the velocity-based method appearing to be a
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better option. Time-based prediction equations and time-based equipment such as timing mats

are not recommended to evaluate upper-body power from the BPU due to the presence of

systematic bias and large LOA. This finding provides evidence which supports the potential use

of an accelerometer or linear position transducer as a valid method, and an alternative to the

force plate, to precisely evaluate upper-body power in recreationally trained men.

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Figure 1. Illustration for force-time, velocity-time, and power-time curve during a BPU test.
Peak force, peak power and peak velocity are achieved at different moments. The concentric
phase of the BPU involves the propulsive and braking stage. Peak velocity is achieved between
the two stages, and take-off velocity falls within the braking stage.
Figure 2. Scatter plots (left panel) and Bland-Altman plots (right panel) between the measured
and estimated peak and mean power derived from time-based (1st and 2nd row) and velocity-
based (3rd and 4th row) equations. Dashed line represents 95% confidence interval.

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Table 1. Reliability statistics for the BPU measurements.

Measurements Trial 1 Trial 2 ICC (95% CI) SEM

Peak Force (N) 960 ± 188 952 ± 188 0.971 (0.952–0.983) 45
Mean Force (N) 792 ± 140 789 ± 135 0.989 (0.981–0.993) 21
Peak RFD (N·s-1) 4751 ± 1862 4470 ± 1981 0.849 (0.756–0.908) 1059
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Mean RFD (N·s ) 2342 ± 872 2289 ± 939 0.867 (0.788–0.919) 469
Net Impulse (N·s) 81 ± 20 81 ± 20 0.956 (0.928–0.974) 5.9

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Peak Velocity (m·s ) 1.30 ± 0.23 1.30 ± 0.22 0.863 (0.781–0.916) 0.12
Flight Time (s) 0.20 ± 0.08 0.21 ± 0.07 0.750 (0.614–0.842) 0.05
Peak Power (W) 939 ± 257 934 ± 239 0.936 (0.895–0.961) 123

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Mean Power (W) 516 ± 150 516 ± 144 0.934 (0.891–0.960) 66
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Table 2. Validation analysis of strength and power prediction equations.

Value (W) r CE SEE TE slope intercept

1RMM 123.2 ± 20.9

1RMP 119.6 ± 22.0 0.852 -3.580 11.2 12.0 0.809 26.4
PPK 962.1 ± 235.4
PPT 992.1 ± 181.7 0.817 30.022 139.6 136.2 1.058 -87.3

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PPV 982.0 ± 215.8 0.928 19.936 90.0 87.7 1.012 -32.1
MPK 541.9 ± 136.9

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MPT 540.9 ± 101.1 0.776 -1.015 88.7 84.3 1.051 -26.3
MPV 535.5 ± 120.1 0.935 -6.448 50.0 48.5 1.065 -28.3
1RMM: Measured 1RM bench press; 1RMP: Predicted 1RM bench press; PPK: kinetic-based peak
power; PPT: time-based peak power; PPV: velocity-based peak power; MPK: kinetic-based mean
power; MPT: time-based mean power; MPV: velocity-based mean power.
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