Using counter-movement push-up as a field test for upper-body extensor power

There is a paucity of research that examines the force-time variables of the counter-movement push-up (CMPU) and no research that examines the relationship between force-time variables and the vertical displacement (VH) associated with a CMPU. The purpose of the current study was two folds a) toinvestigate the relationships between CMPU-VH and the force-time variables (F-T) for the CMPU: peak force (PF), peak power (PP), peak rate of force development (PRFD), and impulse (IMP), and b) toexamine evidences to support the validity for using CMPU as a measure of upper-body extensor power.Fifteen subjects (13 = males and 2 = females); (mean ± SD) age = 26.87 ± 2.72 years, height = 178.83 ± 7.92 cm, body mass = 84.85 ± 15.53 kg, and body fat percent = 17.31 ± 6.20 % volunteered for the study. The test-retest trials took place 48-72 hours apart to minimize the influence of fatigue and accommodate weekend, school, or work schedules. A 3-D motion capture method (10 Camera Raptor-E Digital Real Time Camera System) was used to measure CMPU-VH using reflective markers placed on specific anatomical landmarks on the surface of the skin in the Motion Analysis Lab and collected at a sampling rate of 120 Hz.CMPU kinetic data were sampled at 400 Hz using a BP400600 (2000lb capacity) force platform (FP). The resultant values were CMPU-VH = 24.64 ± 7.01 cm, PRFD = 6,254.93 ± 4409.89 N·s^-1, IMP = 198.40 ± 77.99 N·s, PP = 329.15 ± 178.06 W and PF = 477.74 ± 179.73 N. A Pearson Product Moment Correlations matrix between CMPU-VH and force platform derived force-time variables was determined; the highest value was PP (r = 0.81) and the lowest was PRFD (r =0.43). The results provide some support for using the CMPU as a practical field test for assessing upper-body muscular extensor power and also suggest that the CMPU may be useful exercise for the development of upper-body extensor power.