ArticleSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2017
The Sticking Point in the Bench Press, the Squat, and the Deadlift: Similarities and Differences, and Their Significance for Research and Practice.
Article in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of Variable-Resistance Training Versus Constant-Resistance Training on Maximum Strength: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- The Effect of Load and Volume Autoregulation on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Electromyographic comparison of the barbell deadlift using constant versus variable resistance in healthy, trained men.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Comparison of Muscle Activation between Variable Resistance Training and Free Weight Training: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of human kinetics · 2026Review
- Kinematic analysis of the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device in unpowered mode.NPJ microgravity · 2026Article
- Progressively Increased Range of Motion Confers Similar Strength Improvements but Not Bar Kinematics as Full Range of Motion Bench Press.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Relative Strength Does Not Influence the Sticking Region Among Recreational Trained Participants in Squat.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Effects of variable resistance training with different load ratios on lower-limb strength and power in male college students.Journal of exercise science and fitness · 2025Article
- Determining the Effects of a 6-Week Training Intervention on Reactive Strength: A Single-Case Experimental Design Approach.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Impact of Re-Warm-Up During Resistance Training: Analysis of Mechanical and Physiological Variables.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Impact of squatting on selected cardiovascular parameters among college students.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Are Diminishing Potentiation and Large Extensor Moments the Cause for the Occurrence of the Sticking Region in Maximum Free-Weight Barbell Back Squats among Resistance-Trained Males?Journal of human kinetics · 2024Article
- Concurrent validity of novel smartphone-based apps monitoring barbell velocity in powerlifting exercises.PloS one · 2024Article
- Impact of the deep squat on articular knee joint structures, friend or enemy? A scoping review.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2024Article
- Effects of variable resistance training within complex training on strength and punch performance in elite amateur boxers.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Acute Effects of Back Squat Combined with Different Elastic Band Resistance on Vertical Jump Performance in Collegiate Basketball Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2023Article
- Analysis of Muscle Strength and Electromyographic Activity during Different Deadlift Positions.Muscles (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Intermittent Voluntary Isometric Contractions Effects on Performance Enhancement and Sticking Region Kinematics in the Bench Press.Journal of human kinetics · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Since it was first observed, and especially so in recent years, the phenomenon of the so-called "sticking point" in resistance training has attracted a substantial amount of sports and exercise science research. Broadly speaking, the sticking point is understood as the position in the range of motion of a lift at which a disproportionately large increase in the difficulty associated with continuing the lift is experienced. Hence the sticking point is inherently the performance bottleneck, and is also associated with an increased chance of exercise form deterioration or breakdown. Understanding the aspects of lifting performance which should be analysed in order to pinpoint the cause of a specific sticking point and therefore devise an effective training strategy to overcome it is of pervasive importance to strength practitioners, and is conducive to injury avoidance and continued progress. In this paper, we survey a range of physiological and biomechanical mechanisms which contribute to the development of sticking points, and then, led by this insight, review and analyse the findings of the existing observational research on the occurrence of sticking points in three ubiquitous exercises: the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift. The findings of our analysis should be used to inform future research and current resistance training practice.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.