Wrist Wraps Do Not Affect Barbell Bench Press Muscular Strength, Power, or Endurance in Resistance-Trained Men and Women

Harris, DR, Harris, DR, Cardaci, TD, Cintineo, HP, Funderburk, LK, and Machek, SB. Wrist wraps do not impact barbell bench press muscular strength, power, or endurance in resistance-trained men and women. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2024—Although wrist wraps have become increasingly prevalent in both competitive and recreational demographics to improve upper-body strength, their posited ability to augment bench press performance by enhanced wrist stability still remains underinvestigated. Furthermore, no data exist determining the efficacy of varying wrap styles on bench-specific muscular strength and associated power, and quantitative and subjective differences between sexes. Eighteen resistance-trained male and female subjects (9M/9F; 24 ± 4 years; 176 ± 33 cm; 80 ± 15 kg) visited the laboratory on 3 separate occasions in randomized, crossover, and counterbalanced design to wear either a flexible wrist wrap (FW), stiff wrap (SW), or an unwrapped/no-wrap control (NW) condition. All subjects underwent a bench press one-repetition maximum (1RM) test and linear position transducer-derived power and velocity assessments. Furthermore, subjective stability (SS) and discomfort (SD) were determined promptly following 1RM attempts. Analyses failed to detect any main condition or interaction effects for bench press 1RM; however, a statistically significant main sex effect was observed (p < 0.001; = 0.597) favoring male subjects relative to female subjects. Neither power nor velocity measurements revealed any significant main condition or sex effects, nor any interactions. Nonparametric assessments further revealed significant wrist wrap condition effects for both SS and SD (p < 0.001 in both cases), whereby NW was statistically more comfortable (p < 0.001) than either wrap condition, without any difference between FW and SW (p > 0.05). Although wrist wraps did not significantly alter bench press-specific strength and power, subjects nonetheless perceived wrist wraps as subjectively more stable irrespective of increased discomfort.

Neoprene Knee Sleeves of Varying Tightness Augment Barbell Squat One Repetition Maximum Performance Without Improving Other Indices of Muscular Strength, Power, or Endurance

ABSTRACT

Machek, SB, Cardaci, TD, Wilburn, DT, Cholewinski, MC, Latt, SL, Harris, DR, and Willoughby, DS. Neoprene knee sleeves of varying tightness augment barbell squat one repetition maximum performance without improving other indices of muscular strength, power, or endurance. J Strength Cond Res 35(2S): S6-S15, 2021-Neoprene knee sleeves are commonly used by powerlifters and recreational users but are heavily under-researched. Furthermore, no data exist on whether knee sleeves of varying compressive tightness impact muscular performance similar to commonly used knee wraps, which are both generally effective and more so when increasingly constrictive. Fifteen resistance trained, knee sleeve naive, recreational weight lifting men (22.1 ± 4.1 years; 177.5 ± 5.9 cm; 87.8 ± 7.8 kg) visited the laboratory on 3 separate occasions one week apart, assigned in a randomized, crossover, and counterbalanced fashion to either a minimally supportive control sleeve (CS) condition, a manufacturer-recommended sizing neoprene knee sleeve ("normal" sleeve; NS), or a one size smaller (than NS) neoprene knee sleeve (tighter sleeve [TS]). On each visit, subjects sequentially completed vertical jump (countermovement and squat jumps for both peak and mean power), one repetition maximum (1RM) barbell squat, and GymAware assessments (peak power, peak velocity, and dip) at 90% (reported) and 100% (tested) 1RM as well as one-leg extension (1RM, repetitions to failure, and total volume load at 75% 1RM) tests. All data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance at p < 0.05. Analysis revealed a significant condition effect on barbell squat 1RM (p = 0.003; η2 = 0.339), whereby both NS (p = 0.044; 166 ± 24 kg) and TS (p = 0.019; 166 ± 21 kg) outperformed CS (161 ± 22 kg), with no difference between neoprene sleeves. Conversely, no other tested parameters differed between knee sleeve conditions (p ≥ 0.05). The present results demonstrate that neoprene knee sleeves may function independent of tightness, relative to recommended sizing and ultimately unlike knee wraps. Furthermore, the singular benefits observed on barbell squat maximal strength potentially suggests an exercise-specific benefit yet to be fully elucidated.