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Comparative Effects of Three

Weight Training Programs
a
Richard A. Berger
a
Texas Technological College , Lubbock , Texas ,
USA
Published online: 17 Mar 2013.

To cite this article: Richard A. Berger (1963) Comparative Effects of Three Weight
Training Programs, Research Quarterly. American Association for Health, Physical
Education and Recreation, 34:3, 396-398

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10671188.1963.10613249

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 Notes

Comparative Effects of Three Weight

Training Programs
RICHARD A. BERGER
Texas Technological College
Lubbock, Texas

COMPETITIVE WEIGHT liFTERS train with loads that seldom permit more than five
repetitions per set, using maximum exertion. Practically all competitive lifters will em-
Downloaded by [Iowa State University] at 19:06 29 September 2014

ploy a load from I·RM to 5-RM from at least four sets to as high as ten sets (4). The
customary training program used in physical therapy to strengthen weakened muscles
usually involves at least three sets with 100RM or some proportion of 10·RM performed
for ten repetitions (3,5). This program is similar to the ones followed by weight trainers
who do not lift competitively but are interested primarily in improving their physical
appearance. Weight trainers will vary the number of repetitions per set from six to
twenty but infrequently do more than three sets. The competitive lifter trains with
heavier loads, fewer repetitions, and more sets than the physical therapy patient or weight
trainer because he believes that greater strength improvement will occur.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine whether progressive resistance exercise
with frequent sets, heavy loads, and few repetitions per set was more effective for improv-
ing strength than training with fewer sets, lighter loads, and more repetitions per set.
The former program is similar to the one followed by competitive weight lifters and the
latter program is similar to the one followed by weight trainers and corrective therapists.
Methodology
Three groups totaling 48 college students were trained with progressive resistance exer-
cise for a period of nine weeks, three times weekly. Each group trained with a different
program using the bench press lift. This lift was performed in a supine position on a
bench with a bar bell placed on the chest and the hands grasping the bar shoulder
width apart, palms facing upward. The bar was raised vertically until the arms were
fully extended.
Group I trained with the 2-RM for six sets, Group II with the 6-RM for three sets,
and Group III with the 10-RM for three sets each training session. The l-RM for the
bench press lift was determined before and after the nine week training period.
The t ratios for paired observations were calculated within groups to determine
whether all groups increased significantly in strength after the nine week training pro-
gram. Analysi~ of covariance was used to determine whether the groups differed sig-
nificantly at the completion of training. Although the three groups were not matched
initially, their initial l-RM means were not appreciably different from each other. The
means were 126.33 lbs., 125.71 lbs., and 123.90 lbs. for Groups I, II, and III respectively.
R.esult.
The initial and final means, standard errors, and t ratios are presented in Table 1. All
groups improved significantly in l-RM strength beyond the .001 level. The average In-
396
 Notes 397

TABLE I.-STRENGTH IMPROVEMENT WITHIN GROUPS

AFTER NINE WEEKS OF TRAINING
_. -------
Means Standard
Groups Tl T. Error ta
I (N =
15) 126.33 147.66 2.31 9.23
6 Sets-2 Reps/set
II (N =
14) 125.71 152.50 2.97 9.02
3 Sets-6 Reps/set
III (N = 19) 123.90 148.70 2.33 10.64
3 Sets-10 Reps/set
a All t ratios are significant beyond the .001 level.
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TABLE 2.-ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE BETWEEN THREE DIFFERENT

WEIGHT TRAINING PROGRAMS AT NINE WEEKS OF TRAINING
Source of Variation Sum x2 Sum xy Sum y2 df
I
Total 21,789 21,931 25,762 47
Within Groups 21,646 21,921 25,675 45
Between Groups 152 10 I 87 2
Sum of Squares
of Errors of Mean
Source of Variation Estimate df Square F
Total 3,698 46
Within Groups 3,568 44 81.09
Adjusted Between Groups I 130 2 65.00 .80'
• Not significant.

crease in l·RM for all groups from the beginning of training to its completion was
24.44 lbs, Analysis of covariance showed in Table 2 that no significant differences existed
between group means after nine weeks of training.
Discussion and Conclusions
Berger (1) obtained results similar to those of the present study when a comparison
was made between Groups II (3S - 6R) and III (3S. lOR) after nine weeks of training.
In both studies, Group II had a higher mean than Group III but the mean differences
were not significant. In Berger's study training continued up to 12 weeks and at that
time the mean of Group II was significantly higher than the Group III mean. It is prob-
able that the continuation of the present study to 12 weeks would have resulted in sig-
nificant differences between groups II and III.
Further research is needed to determine the optimum combination of sets and repeti-
tions per set to perform for the greatest improvement of strength. According to Berger
(2), the optimum number of repetitions per set is between two and ten provided not
more than one set is performed. However, training with a greater number of sets than
one may result in an entirely different optimum number of repetitions per set because of
an increase in muscular fatigue which is associated with an increase in total work.
The investigator concluded from the results of this study that training for nine weeks,
three times weekly, with heavy loads for few repetitions per set and numerous sets is not
more effective for improving strength than training with lighter loads for more repetitions
per set and fewer sets.
 398 The Research Quarterly, Vol. 34, No.3

References
1. BEIlGER, RICHARD A. Effect of varied weight training programs on strength. Res. Quart.
33:168·81. 1962.
2. • Optimum repetitions for the development of strength. Res. Quart. 33:
334·38, 1962.
3. DELoRME, THOMAS L., and WATKINS, ARTHUR L. Technics of PRE. Arch. phys. Med.
29:263·73, 1948.
4. MURRAY, JIM, and KARPOVICH, PETER V. Weight training in athletics. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1956.
5. WATKINS, ARTHUR L. Practical applications of progressive resistance exercise. J. of
Amer. med. Assn. 146;6:443·46, 1953.
Downloaded by [Iowa State University] at 19:06 29 September 2014

(Submitted December 6, 1962)

Motor Ability of Finnish Male College Students

PAULI VUORI
Tikkakosken Yhteiskoulu
ROY PANGLE
George Peabody College for Teachers
THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY was to make an initial appraisal of the motor ability
of Finnish male college students. Such an investigation, it was felt, would contribute to
the fast accumulating body of comparative literature in physical education. To date, the
hulk of this literature reflects the emphasis which has typically been directed to the areas
of youth fitness and motor fitness appraisal. General motor ability, by contrast, has reo
ceived very little attention in terms of published data and systematic research under-
takings.
Subjects
Subjects for this study were 67 first and second year students enrolled in the Jyvaeky-
Ian KasvatusopiIlinen Korkeakoulu (School of Education) during the year 1961-62.
Although a part of a larger university center, the School of Education functions solely as a
teacher training institution and its students pursue a two-year curriculum in elementary
education. These students are roughly the academic equivalent of American college
freshmen and sophomores. They are, however, consistently older (by perhaps two or
three years) as most, if not alI, of the men students have completed their military obli-
gation prior to enrollment in college. The mean age of the 67 subjects was 21.52 years;
the range of ages extended from 19.0 to 24.5 years.
Procedure
The Barrow Test of General Motor Ability for College Men, No.2, 0) was used in
determining motor ability scores. This particular battery was chosen because of its ad.
ministrative economy and because it could be used during inclement weather. Validity
of the test is reported as being .920 (multiple correlation with the criterion) with a
standard error of measurement of 3.97. Each test item was administered as prescribed