Introduction: Surface electromyography (sEMG) is a non-invasive technique applied to the skin that is able to record the muscles’ electrical activity. In sports science, sEMG is used to assess muscle activation, analyse performance, and monitor muscle fatigue. This study aims to examine muscle activation, namely the electrical potentials produced by the contraction of the gluteus maximus, during a back squat in two groups who underwent different training modalities.
Methods: A total of 20 healthy subjects were selected: 9 participants (age: 21.7±1.8 years, 7 males) followed a training based on box squats, while 11 (age: 21.3±0.7 years, 9 males) observed a program based on pin squats. The study was conducted in two sessions, each involving a single repetition of back squat, with a 3-month interval between sessions, during which participants followed their respective training programs. Muscle activation was measured through sEMG (Encephalan Mini AP-10 system). An analysis of signals was performed using Matlab2023b, computing the median frequency, ARV, and sample entropy. RM-ANOVA and post hoc analysis with Bonferroni correction were performed to identify differences between groups and over time.
Results and discussion: The RM-ANOVA assessed statistical differences over time for the ARV (p<0.0001), and the post-hoc analysis showed an increase in the ARV for both the box squat (p<0.0001) and the pin squat (p=0.015) groups. Notably, no significant differences were assessed between the two groups (p=0.808). Concerning the median frequency and the sample entropy, no statistical differences were assessed. These results suggest that both trainings had a positive effect on muscle activation. However, the box squats group showed a higher increase over time with respect to the pin squat group.
Conclusion: This study analyzed the activation of the gluteus maximus muscle during the back squat after two different types of training. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of sEMG in assessing differences between training methods, providing insights to optimize training strategies.
