The Quality of Functional Movements and the Back Squat in Amateur and Professional Bodybuilders.
Veronika Iljinaitė, Laimonas Šiupšinskas, Kristina Berškienė
PMID 39502542WHAT IT FOUND
Professional bodybuilders scored higher on functional movement and back squat quality than amateurs.
Amateurs' squat quality varied with added load, while professionals stayed consistent.
Key findings
01Across bodybuilders, a higher total Functional Movement Screen score was associated with a higher total Back Squat Assessment score.
02Professional bodybuilders scored higher than amateurs on the Functional Movement Screen and on the weightless Back Squat Assessment.
03Amateur bodybuilders' Back Squat Assessment scores differed across squat loads, while professional bodybuilders' scores did not differ significantly across loads.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 26 bodybuilders were tested, so the findings apply to a small group. The study compared professionals and amateurs at one time, so it cannot show that experience caused better scores. The groups differed in years of bodybuilding experience, and the study did not control for training load, method, volume, or frequency. The study did not measure injury outcomes, so it cannot say whether these movement scores predict injury risk. The paper discusses better neuromuscular control, balance, postural stability, and functional mobility as possible explanations, but it did not measure them.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these scores as proof that bodybuilding experience causes better movement quality or lowers injury risk. The study compared 26 athletes at one time, did not measure injuries, and the groups differed in training experience.