Electromyographical analysis and performance during bench press exercise: The influence of self-talk

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine and compare the effects of different self-talk approach on performance and muscle activation during bench press exercise. Thirty trained men were recruited and were required to performed bench press exercise in three self-talk approach; i) motivational self-talk, ii) instructional self-talk, and iii) control condition (without self-talk). The performance of bench press is measured by the number of repetitions that were accomplished while the muscle activation was obtained from the pectoralis major muscle using electromyography (EMG) method. Results showed greatest number of repetitions was recorded when performing motivational self-talk followed by control condition and lastly instructional self-talk. In contrast, instructional self-talk recorded the highest pectoralis major muscle activation. As the conclusion, motivational self-talk is suggested to be adopted during resistance training as it was shown to produce greatest performance while been economic in terms of muscle activation.