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Abstract
The current study investigated the effects of 6 weeks of heavy upper-body strength
training on maximal strength and sprint abilities in eight world class ice sledge
hockey players. Before and after the strength training intervention, all subjects
performed a 30-m maximal sprint on ice (where time for each 10 m section was measured)
and 1 repetition maximal (1RM) strength test in the bench pull (BP), pull-down (PD),
pull over (PO) and front pull (FP) exercises. Three weekly sessions with 3×6-8RM for
these strength exercises were added during the intervention period. From pre- to post-test,
1RM in the strength exercises improved by 4-8%, whereas 30-m sprint time, all 10-m
section times and the calculated power output in the 10-m acceleration phase all improved
by 2-3% (all P<.05). The pre- to post-test changes in 30-m sprint time and the initial
10-m time correlated significantly with the changes in 1RM for BP (r=0.59 and 0.55)
and PD (r=0.60 and 0.68) (all P<.05). In conclusion, the results of this study strongly
suggest that heavy upper-body strength training improves upper-body strength and ice
sledge hockey sprint abilities, and that the magnitude of improvements in strength
correlates with the improvements in sprint abilities.