Abstract

Aim. Assessment of the degree of muscle involvement during a squat with a barbell in powerlifters and Crossfit trainers using surface electromyography (sEMG).

Material and methods. The study included two groups of 30 people exercising Crossfit and powerlifting, with an average age of 24 ± 2.8 years. Inclusion criteria: male gender, age range-22 to 28 years and a minimum of two years of training experience. Muscle tension measurements were made using the EMG FREEEMG300 electromyograph, in accordance with the SENIAM guidelines. The study consisted of a total of twelve repetitions of squats with a barbell, in two series of frontsquat and backsquat techniques.

Results. The mean and mean maximum muscle tone, each time statistically significant differences were noted – in the Crossfit group it was higher than in powerlifting.

Conclusions. The involvement of muscles during the squat with the bar and with the load equal to the body weight, performed using the “back squad” and “front squat” techniques is significantly higher in competitors training Crossfit. The analysis of the subjective assessment of difficulties in performing the exercises showed that the level of difficulty depends on the technique of performing the exercises. Reported difficulties of exercises – 50% of crossfiters using the “back squat” technique and 100% of powerlifters using the “front squat” technique.

Key words:

powerlifting, crossfit, muscle tone, sEMG