Intrasession Reliability and the Relationship Between the Explosive Bench Press and Medicine Ball Chest Pass Assessments of Upper Extremity Power

To determine the relationship between EBP peak power and MBCP test distance using 2kg, 3kg and 4kg loads and to determine the intrasession reliability of both tests. Twenty-seven healthy collegiate-level baseball players (20.5+ or -1.5yrs; 1.82+ or -.06m; 84.7+ or -8.7kg) performed three MBCP trials using 2kg, 3kg, and 4kg MB loads. Instructions were given to hold medicine ball at shoulder level with feet shoulder width apart and knees straight, and to press the MB for maximal distance without countermovement. Initial impact sites of each trial determined distance. For the EBP trials, a standard 16kg barbell was loaded with and additional 14kg. Each subject was allowed a warm-up of 8 repetitions. Strong intrasession reliability was revealed for the bench press and MBCP tests (ICC range=.933 to .977) Although correlational coefficients for 3kg (r=.647, 95% CI=.355 to .824) and 4kg (r=.612, 95% CI=.303 to .804) loads were slightly higher than 2kg (r=.482, 95% CI=.135 to .728) there was no significant difference between the three coefficients (P>.05).