The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tug of war machine training and weight training on specific muscle strength and pulling force performance of indoor tug of war player. Sixteen tug of war players from junior high school were divided into tug of war machine training group (TM group, n = 8) and weight training group (W group, n = 8). All subjects sustained the basic tug of war training programs during the experimental period. The subjects of TM group and W group had additional training schedules with tug of war machine or barbell 3 times per week for 8 weeks. The strength of both hands, back strength, lower extremities strength, individual maximal pulling force and continued time, team maximal pulling force and continued time of the subjects were tested before and after training. Tow-way mixed design ANOVA were used to compare the variables between groups and times. Independent t-tests were used to compare the increasing percentages of all variables. The results showed that there were no differences in all variables between groups before training. After training, the strength of both hands, back strength, lower extremities strength and individual maximal pulling force in TM group and W group were significantly better than in pre-training (TM group: 40.13 ± 5.64 kg vs. 35.06 ± 5.43 kg, 40.38 ± 6.45 kg vs. 36.13 ± 6.95 kg, 121.75 ± 25.27 kg vs. 108.50 ± 21.99 kg, 176.00 ± 37.09 kg vs. 153.00 ± 32.95 kg, 104.38 ± 14.50 kg vs. 93.75 ± 17.27 kg; W group: 40.38 ± 6.54 kg vs. 36.13 ± 8.48 kg, 43.88 ± 7.41 vs. 41.44 ± 10.61 kg, 127.63 ± 24.93 kg vs. 114.00 ± 24.57 kg, 169.00 ± 22.05kg vs. 147.88 ± 17.44kg, 98.75 ± 20.66 kg vs. 91.88 ± 18.70 kg; respectively, p < .05). There were also no difference between groups after training. It is concluded that both of tug of war machine training and weight training can effectively enhance specific muscle strength and pulling force performance.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of tug of war machine training and weight training on specific muscle strength and pulling force performance of indoor tug of war player. Sixteen tug of war players from junior high school were divided into tug of war machine training group (TM group, n = 8) and weight training group (W group, n = 8). All subjects sustained the basic tug of war training programs during the experimental period. The subjects of TM group and W group had additional training schedules with tug of war machine or barbell 3 times per week for 8 weeks. The strength of both hands, back strength, lower extremities strength, individual maximal pulling force and continued time, team maximal pulling force and continued time of the subjects were tested before and after training. Tow-way mixed design ANOVA were used to compare the variables between groups and times. Independent t-tests were used to compare the increasing percentages of all variables. The results showed that there were no differences in all variables between groups before training. After training, the strength of both hands, back strength, lower extremities strength and individual maximal pulling force in TM group and W group were significantly better than in pre-training (TM group: 40.13 ± 5.64 kg vs. 35.06 ± 5.43 kg, 40.38 ± 6.45 kg vs. 36.13 ± 6.95 kg, 121.75 ± 25.27 kg vs. 108.50 ± 21.99 kg, 176.00 ± 37.09 kg vs. 153.00 ± 32.95 kg, 104.38 ± 14.50 kg vs. 93.75 ± 17.27 kg; W group: 40.38 ± 6.54 kg vs. 36.13 ± 8.48 kg, 43.88 ± 7.41 vs. 41.44 ± 10.61 kg, 127.63 ± 24.93 kg vs. 114.00 ± 24.57 kg, 169.00 ± 22.05kg vs. 147.88 ± 17.44kg, 98.75 ± 20.66 kg vs. 91.88 ± 18.70 kg; respectively, p < .05). There were also no difference between groups after training. It is concluded that both of tug of war machine training and weight training can effectively enhance specific muscle strength and pulling force performance.