Effect of Trapezius Muscle Thickness on the One-Repetition Maximum (1RM) Strength

Year 2025, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 564 - 572, 30.09.2025

Coşkun Yılmaz , Tülay Ceylan , Adem Altunbaş , Hakan Hüseyin Soylu , Korhan Kavuran Mehmet Söyler

https://doi.org/10.30621/jbachs.1720886

Abstract

Effect of Trapezius Muscle Thickness on the One-Repetition Maximum (1RM) Strength

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the impact of trapezius muscle thickness measurements on bench press single repetition maximum (1RM) power output.
Material and Methods: The study included 13 male bodybuilders who participated in national and international professional natural bodybuilding competitions and 13 healthy sedentary male subjects. Body composition, 1RM values and ultrasonographic measurements of trapezius muscle thickness were obtained from the participants.
Results: The findings revealed that both the skin-to-superficial muscle tissue (R1, L1) and skin-to-deep fascia (R2, L2) distances were significantly lower in sedentary individuals compared to bodybuilders (p<0.001). Additionally, 1RM strength output was significantly higher in bodybuilders than in sedentary individuals. In sedentary individuals, a moderate negative correlation was observed between the distance between superficial muscle and 1RM, and a low positive correlation was observed between the distance between deep fascia and skin surface. In contrast, a low negative correlation was found in both parameters in bodybuilders.
Conclusion: In conclusion, trapezius muscle thickness was found to be significantly lower in sedentary individuals compared to bodybuilders in both superficial and deep tissue layers. Moreover, 1RM values were significantly higher in bodybuilders.

Keywords

One-repetition maximum , Strength , Trapezius muscle thickness.

Ethical Statement

The study was approved by the Bitlis Eren University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee at its meeting dated 07.05.2025 with protocol number 2025/4, decision number 28, and the process was carried out between 10-20 May 2025 in accordance with the standards of the Declaration of Helsinki (CREC 2018/29).

Thanks

We would like to thank all the participants who took part in our study.

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