The acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on maximal bench press performance 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate the short term effects of static and dynamic flexibility regimens on maximal bench press power in active adults. Twentyfour male and twenty four female subjects were pretested on their estimated 1RM bench press, which served as their own control. The males and females were equally split up into dynamic and static flexibility groups. Each group performed their designated set of stretches and immediately were retested for their bench press 1RM. A 2 (group) x 2 (gender) x 2 (test) mixed ANOVA was used with repeating measures on the last factor. The alpha level was set at .05. Results showed that there were no significant differences between stretching protocols nor between gender. Based on this study, one may conclude that when performing maximal bench press exercises, it does not matter what type of stretching is performed immediately preceding the exercise. However, based on previous research, when power activities are performed, it may be beneficial to execute dynamic stretching protocols prior to performance