Superimposed vibration on suspended push-ups

Bernat Buscà; Joan Aguilera-Castells; Jordi Arboix-Alió; Adrià Miró; Azahara Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe; Pol Huertas; Javier Peña

doi:10.7717/peerj.14435

Superimposed vibration on suspended push-ups

PeerJ. 2022 Nov 29:10:e14435. doi: 10.7717/peerj.14435. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Bernat Buscà¹, Joan Aguilera-Castells¹, Jordi Arboix-Alió^{1

2}, Adrià Miró¹, Azahara Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe^{1

2}, Pol Huertas¹, Javier Peña^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Psychology, Education Sciences, and Sport Blanquerna, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain.
² School of Health Science Blanquerna, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain.
³ Sport and Physyical Activity Studies Centre (CEEAF), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Spain.
⁴ Sport performance Analysis Research Group (SPARG), University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Vic, Spain.

Abstract

Background: Superimposition of vibration has been proposed in sports training using several devices and methods to enhance muscle activation and strength adaptations. Due to the popularity of suspension training, vibration systems have recently been developed to increase the effects of this training method. The present cross-sectional study aims to examine the effects of superimposing vibration on one of the most popular exercises in strength and conditioning programs: push-ups.

Methods: Twenty-eight physically active men and women executed push-ups in three suspended conditions (non-vibration, vibration at 25 Hz, and vibration at 40 Hz). OMNI-Res scale was registered, and surface electromyographic signals were measured for the activity of the right and left external oblique, anterior deltoid, triceps brachii, sternal, and clavicular heads of the pectoralis major.

Results: A linear mixed model indicated a significant fixed effect for vibration at 25 Hz and 40 Hz on muscle activity. Suspended push-ups with superimposed vibration (25 Hz and 40 Hz) showed a significant higher activity on left (25 Hz: p = 0.036, d = 0.34; 40 Hz: p = 0.003, d = 0.48) and right external oblique (25 Hz: p = 0.004, d = 0.36; 40 Hz: p = 0.000, d = 0.59), anterior deltoid (25 Hz: p = 0.032, d = 0.44; 40 Hz: p = 0.003, d = 0.64), and global activity (25 Hz: p = 0.000, d = 0.55; 40 Hz: p = 0.000, d = 0.83) compared to non-vibration condition. Moreover, OMNI-Res significant differences were found at 25 Hz (6.04 ± 0.32, p = 0.000 d = 4.03 CI = 3.27, 4.79) and 40 Hz (6.21 ± 0.36 p = 0.00 d = 4.29 CI = 3.49, 5.08) compared to the non-vibration condition (4.75 ± 0.32).

Conclusion: Superimposing vibration is a feasible strategy to enhance the muscle activity of suspended push-ups.

Keywords: Instability; Muscle activity; Suspension training; Upper limb; Vibration.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arm* / physiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Electromyography
Female
Humans
Male
Muscle, Skeletal* / physiology
Shoulder / physiology

Associated data

figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.20293722

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Secretariat of University and Research of the Ministry of Business and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia and the European Social Fund grant number 2020 FI_B2 00126 and Obra Social “la Caixa” grant number URL/R26/2019. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.