(24) IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ONE-REPETITION MAXIMUM FOR BENCH PRESS AND HEX-BAR DEADLIFT WITH ACFT TESTING VARIABLES?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to see if submaximal 3-RM attempts for the bench press and hex-bar deadlift could correlate with the SPT and SDC with male and female collegiate ROTC students. Methods: Twenty healthy ROTC males (age = 20.35 ± 1.90 years, height 176.84 cm ± 7.63 cm, mass 79.92 kg ± 10.00 kg) and six healthy ROTC females (age = 19.83 ± 1.72 years, height 162.05 cm ± 6.45 cm, mass 61.94 kg ± 6.21 kg) volunteered to participate in the study. Any upper or lower extremity injuries resulted in exclusion from the study. Participants performed a baseline three repetition maximum (3-RM) assessments for straight bar bench press in late January, 2025. Maximum strength (1-RM) was calculated from the 3-repetition maximum (weight ÷ (% 1-RM ÷ 100). A diagnostic ACFT assessment was performed within 14-21 days post 3-RM bench press (due to weather). The 3-RM Hex-Bar Deadlift was calculated from the ACFT Hex-Bar Deadlift event using the same formula from the bench press. The SPT consists of a cadet throwing a 4.54 kg sand filled medicine ball behind them for distance (meters), two attempts are performed. The SDC consists of a 25 meter distance for each task, where the cadets will sprint, drag a 40.91 kg sled, lateral shuffle, carry two 18.18 kg dumbbells, and sprint again. One attempt was performed. A Spearmans Rho correlation was used for each gender independently and an alpha of 0.05 was used for level of significance. Results: For males, Bench Press 1-RM was positively correlated with DL 1-RM and Power Toss (r=0.70-0.86, p= < 0.001), and negatively correlated with SDC (r =-0.69, p =0.001). DL 1-RM was positively correlated with Power Toss (r =0.76, p= < 0.001) and negatively correlated with SDC ( r =-0.74, p = < 0.001), Power Toss was negatively correlated with SDC (r = -0.74, p= < 0.001). For the females Bench Press 1-RM was positively correlated with DL 1-RM, and Power Toss ( r= 0.841-0.924, p= 0.008-0.036). DL 1-RM was significantly correlated with Power Toss ( r=0.8806, p= 0.021). Conclusions: The present study observed similar positive correlational results per gender, however, males saw significant negative correlations for 1-RM strength for upper and lower body when comparing the SDC. Practical Applications: These findings may be of importance for future ACFT testing comprehension. Specifically, future assessments may want to incorporate upper-body predicted 1-RM’s and see if that has a positive impact on overall ACFT performance and scoring outcomes. Acknowledgements: N/A