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Effects of creeping exercise on upper limb strength


Maya Dolenec
Petra Prevc
Vedrana Sember
Rok Fratina
Katja Tomazin

Abstract

This study determined the influence of creeping exercise on the strength and endurance of the upper body. A total of 32 young football players were divided into an experimental (EXP) and a control group (CON). The EXP group included 17 boys  (11.6±0.6years), while the CON group included 15 boys (10.5±1.1years). Upper body strength and endurance were measured by five motor performance tests: push-ups, pull-ups, pulling and pushing on a bench and a complex creeping exercise ("driving a wheelbarrow"). Strength training consisted of a creeping exercise (6 weeks, 2-3 sets, 2-3 times a week, 10-15 minutes). The EXP group improved their performance in push-ups and pull-ups by ~90% (p<0.05) and ~26% (p<0.05), respectively. No significant differences were observed when pulling or pushing on the bench, while the EXP group improved performance scores in "driving a wheelbarrow" by ~13% (p<0.01). For the CON group, motor tests either remained unchanged or decreased. A significantly lower number of repetitions (~20%; p<0.05) was achieved only for pull-ups. Creeping exercises improved the results in the selected upper body strength and motor performance tests. This improvement could be attributed to changes in the neural mechanisms of muscular force generation in the shoulder girdle and trunk.


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eISSN: 2960-2386
print ISSN: 0379-9069