Wrist Wrap Type And Sex Impacts On Bench Press Muscular Endurance And Associated Perceptual Indices

Although wrist wraps are frequently employed by athletes and recreational lifters to augment barbell bench press performance via potentially increased wrist stability, this ostensible enhancement remains hitherto uninvestigated both generally, as well as amongst males and females. PURPOSE: To determine both the ergogenic and perceptive impacts of varying wrist wrap types on bench press-specific muscular endurance between sexes. METHODS: Eighteen recreationally trained males and females (9 M/9F; 24 ± 4y) were randomized in counter-balanced, crossover fashion (7 days between successive visits) to don either stiff (SW) or flexible wrist wraps (FW), alongside an unwrapped control (NW) condition. All participants underwent a one-repetition maximum (1RM) bench press test and subsequently completed a single set to muscular failure at 75%1RM (AMRAP) for each condition, whereby total repetitions completed (REP#) and cumulative volume-load (VL) were recorded. Furthermore, subjective discomfort (via Borg CR10+; SD) and stability (SS) were determined for each condition immediately following AMRAP. Performance (REP# and VL) and subjective (SD and SS) were assessed using an two-way (condition x sex) mixed model ANOVA with repeated measures and a sex-collapsed nonparametric Friedman’s ANOVA, respectively. Both analyses were tested at a .05 alpha level. RESULTS: No significant main nor interaction effects were detected for AMRAP REP# (p > .05). Although analyses likewise failed to reveal any significant main condition (p = .417; ηp2 = .053) nor interaction (p = .318; ηp2 = .069) effects for AMRAP bench press VL, a statistically significant main sex effect was observed (p < .001; ηp2 = .672) favoring males relative to females (p < .001; 925 ± 192 kg vs 523 ± 112 kg). Nonparametric assessments further revealed significant wrist wrap condition effects for both SD (p < .001; Kendall’s W = .858) and SS (p < .001; Kendall’s W = .530). Specifically, wrist wraps demonstrated significantly perceived greater discomfort, alongside enhanced stability (both <.001). CONCLUSION: Although participants in the current investigation largely perceived wrist wraps as subjectively more stable despite increased discomfort, these subjective indices did not meaningfully correspond with bench press-specific muscular endurance.