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Maintaining Body Composition During a Peaking Phase in Powerlifters

In sports, peaking phases are often applied prior to important competitions. Peaking phases typically consist of a planned overreach followed by a taper ending with a few days of complete rest. However, during peaking phases, components of body composition such as body mass (BM), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and skeletal muscle mass (SMM) have been shown to be negatively impacted, which could compromise performance outcomes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to monitor body composition prior to and immediately after a peaking phase to determine if body composition changes occurred. Twelve powerlifters completed a seven-week training protocol designed to peak powerlifting performance. The first four weeks consisted of strength training designed to standardize participant training prior to the first testing session (T1). Following T1, the participants performed a one-week overreach followed by a one-week step-taper ending with 2 and 4 days of complete rest followed by a second testing session (T2). Each testing session consisted of a) measuring BM, FM, FFM, and SMM via bioelectrical impedance, and b) 1-repetition maximum (1RM) testing on back squat (BS), bench press (BP), and deadlift (DL). 1RM performances were summed together for a Powerlifting Total (PT), and Wilks Scores were applied to determine relative performance changes. There were no statistically significant changes in BM (p > 0.99), FM (p > 0.99), FFM (p > 0.99), or SMM (p > 0.99), suggesting a maintenance of body composition during the peaking phase. There were, however, statistically significant changes in 1RM-BS (p = 0.04), PT (p = 0.05), and Wilks Score (p = 0.02). These data suggest that two-week peaking phase can result in the maintenance of body composition alongside improvements in strength performance.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-2080
Date25 April 2023
CreatorsBurke, Benjamin, Travis, Kyle, Stone, Michael, Stone, Margaret, Carroll, Kevin
PublisherDigital Commons @ East Tennessee State University
Source SetsEast Tennessee State University
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
SourceAppalachian Student Research Forum

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