Coordination, the determinant of velocity specificity?

Initial strength gains were examined in the context of learning a new skill. Forty female volunteers were randomly assigned to one of four groups: a bench-press training group utilizing heavy loads in its training, a bench-press training group utilizing almost no load, an alternative training group using different exercises, or a control group that did not train. Training period was 6 wk, with three training sessions per week. Emphasis was put on keeping the coordination and muscular adaptation demands in the bench-press groups as invariant as possible. Bench-press training with a light or with a heavy weight was shown to be equally effective in improving the maximal velocity of contraction for a given absolute resistance. Mean velocity with loads of 0.37, 6.6, 16.6, and 20 kg improved by 21.1, 15.8, 16.9, and 19.5%, respectively. No significant differences in the percent improvement at the four different loads were apparent, indicating that no significant velocity-specific adaptations were present. The bench-press training group, utilizing heavy loads in its training, was the only group with improved one repetition maximum. Overall, findings point to the development of coordination as the determining factor in early velocity-specific strength gains.