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Changes of EEG Power Spectra in Bench Press Weight Training Exercise

Conference Paper · June 2017

DOI: 10.1109/ECTICon.2017.8096161

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 Changes of EEG Power Spectra in Bench Press
Weight Training Exercise
Pipat Engchuan
School of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine
Mae Fah Luang University
Bangkok, Thailand
Karn Wongsuphasawat
School of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine
Mae Fah Luang University
Bangkok, Thailand
Abstract—Weight training is a one type of exercises which some
people interest. When the body has a physical exercise which enough
intensity, it can produce a positive effect on brain function by
changing amplitude of EEG activity. This study examined the effect
of an acute physical exercise by using bench press weight training on
EEG activity in nine healthy young adults. The resent study
demonstrated that EEG activity could be recorded during bench press
weight training. The amplitude of EEG activity included beta and
gamma frequency bands increased with statistically significant at the
0.05 level. The findings of this study documented increases in beta
and gamma frequency bands during bench press weight training.
Therefore, this bench press weight training might significantly altered
the intense exercise. Future studies may want to examine how these
changes in EEG influence or are associated with changes in
cognition, affect and/or perception during bench press weight
training.
Keywords-Brain; Brain activity; Bench press; Weight training
I. INTRODUCTION
Brain is an organ that is easily affected by the physical
changes, especially in the modern time when people are easily
poisoned by the increasing pollution. When the poisonous
substances enter the body, every organ, including the brain will
be endangered. Abnormalities will occur to the brain in terms of
memory, eyesight, intellect, and balance. Because of these
damages, people should know how to protect themselves from
the poisonous substances [1-3]. Electroencephalography (EEG)
is traditionally used to measure the brainwaves. Each type of
brainwave is associated with one’s state of consciousness and
different mood state [4-7]. From all types of brainwave, beta
brainwave is seen in normal activities as well as stressful
conditions or difficulties in mental concentration. On the other
hand alpha wave is seen in wakefulness, relaxed, effortless and
alertness condition. Therefore, persons with high alpha wave
and low in beta wave could indicate status of relaxation, arousal,
less stress and better concentration [8].
Previous research has shown that both acute and chronic
physical exercises can induce positive effects on brain function.
In addition, this is associated with improvements in cognitive
This research paper is a part of first author’s independent study in Anti-Aging
and Regenerative Science, School of Anti-Aging and Regeneration Medicine,
Mae Fah Luang University, Bangkok, Thailand.
* Corresponding author: Assist. Prof. Phakkharawat Sittiprapaporn, Ph.D.,
School of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, Mae Fah Luang University,
Bangkok, Thailand; email: wichian.sit@mfu.ac.th
Phakkharawat Sittiprapaporn*
School of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine
Mae Fah Luang University
Bangkok, Thailand
performance [9,10]. However, the neurophysiological
mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of exercise on
cognitive processing are not well understood [9-11]. Several
previous studies had been proposed brain activity to be
important in examining affective and perceptual responses to
acute bouts of exercise including changes in brain activity that
might occur secondary to the metabolic changes associated with
central fatigue during prolonged exercise [12,13].
Even if the relationship between brain activity and affective
and perceptual responses to exercise can be understood, normal
responses in EEG activity to various types of exercise must be
determined. Electroencephalography (EEG) currently is the
most pragmatic way to monitor changes in EEG activity in
humans while exercising. Although several studies have
described EEG changes immediately after exercise, very few
studies have examined EEG during exercise. Furthermore, the
few studies that have examined EEG changes during exercise
have typically focused on a limited range of exercise intensities
and examined only a few electrode sites. There was one
important approach recent use in understanding processes that
underlie the beneficial effects of exercise on brain function and
cognition. It measured electrical brain activity using
electroencephalography (EEG). Previous studies in this field
focused on either a change in spectral power [14] and/or event-
related potentials (ERPs) [15]. However, to the best of our
knowledge, there are no studies examining the relationship
between bench press weight training and the EEG activity. The
purpose of this investigation then was to examine a more
comprehensive range of the EEG spectrum which included
theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands during bench
press weight training. It is hypothesized that EEG activity will
increase across the EEG spectrum as workload increases. The
measurement of EEG activity of bench press weight training
were mostly done by letting the practitioners practiced the bench
press weight training and then measure the brainwaves by using
the effectiveness of commercially available lightweight EEG
devices, NeuroSky’s Mindwave Mobile.
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 II. MATERIALS AND MEDTHODS well as supporting chest, arm, and shoulder muscles (Figure 2).
Historically, the bench press has evolved over the years, from
A. Participants
floor, bridge, and belly toss variations to the methods used by
The experiment was done with nine volunteers, aged bodybuilders and powerlifters today. The barbell bench press is
between 22-27 years old, who were in good health, no congenital one of three lifts in the sport of powerlifting. It is used
illness, no record of brain surgery, not taking medicines or drugs extensively in weight training, bodybuilding, and other types of
that affect to nervous system. Exclusion criteria were: left training to develop the chest muscles. A barbell is generally
handedness; history of medical and neurologic diseases;
used to hold the weight, but a pair of dumbbells can also be used
psychiatric disorders; head trauma; assumption of Central
[16-19]. Measuring EEG activity after bench press weight
Nervous System active drugs in the two weeks prior to study
entry; and presence of EEG abnormalities at the baseline training were compared to baseline.
recording. After receiving information about the aims of the
study, all patients provided written consent to participate in the
study that was performed according to the Helsinki declaration
standards and was approved by the local institutional review
board of Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand.
B. Tools and Equipments
Recording personal information, namely, age, gender,
nationality, and history of illness were recorded. The
electroencephalography (EEG) was applied in this study. The
neuroheadset was used to display the output, analyze and record
EEG activity. The principles of analytical check were based on
the 10-20 system or International 10-20 system by displaying the
EEG output. EEG frequency analysis was performed by means
of a Fast Fourier Transform algorithm, with a 2-second interval
on the EEG signal. The following frequency bands were
considered: delta (0.1–3 Hz); theta (4–7 Hz); alpha (8–12 Hz);
beta (13–30 Hz); and gamma (30.5–60 Hz). In this study, the
effectiveness of commercially available lightweight EEG
devices, NeuroSky’s Mindwave Mobile, was considered. Via
the application of a single electrode and signal-processing unit
in a headband arrangement, the Mindwave Mobile provides two
100-state outputs operating at 1 Hz. Although the Mindwave
Mobile provided a much coarser picture of brain activity than
multi-electrode EEG or other technologies, the principle
advantage of the Mindwave Mobile was its unobtrusive nature,
which minimizes the aforementioned difficulties in conducting
accurate user studies (Figure 1).

Figure 2. EEG Activity Recording after Bench Press Weight Training

C. Statistical analysis
Analyze the basic demographic data of volunteers by using
descriptive analysis with qualitative data summarized in term of
frequency and percentage, with quantitative data summarized in
term of average and standard deviation. Using inferential
statistic compare each type of EEG activity both baseline and
bench press weight training by compared t-test. Every tests were
set to the statistic significant at p<0.05.

Figure 1. MindWave Mobile Electroencephalography Device (Neurosky, Inc.)
The bench press is known as an upper body strength
training exercise. It consists of pressing a weight upwards from
a supine position. The exercise works the pectoralis major as
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Found that nine male volunteers had the average age of
23.56±1.59 years old. The average of height was 177.70±5.75,
while the average of weight was 73.44±7.02 (Table1).

14
 TABLE 1. DEMOGRAPHIC DATA OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE STUDY baseline (baseline: 0.105±0.595µV; training: 0.233±0.588µV;
Data Means ± SD Min Max t(17) = 1.66; p=0.16) (Table V).
Age 23.56±1.59 22 27
TABLE VI. BETA FREQUENCY BAND COMPARING BETWEEN BASELINE AND
Height 177.70±5.75 169 188 BECH PRESS WEIGHT TRAINING

Weight 73.44±7.02 65 86 EEG Power Baseline Training t p-value

Spectra Mean SD Mean SD 0.52 0.035*
Beta 0.357 0.194 1.433 0.154
TABLE II. COMPARASION OF EEG POWER SPECTRA COMPARING BETWEEN
BASELINE AND BENCH PRESS WEIGHT TRAINING *p < 0.05
EEG Power Baseline Weight
Spectra Training p-value
On the other hand, it was found that beta frequency band
Mean SD Mean SD increased highly during bench press weight training compared to
Delta 0.464 0.056 0.397 0.316 0.16 baseline with statistically significant at 0.05 level (baseline:
Theta 0.138 0.063 0.202 0.954 0.58 0.357±0.194µV; training: 1.433±0.154µV; t(17) = 0.52; p=0.035)
Alpha 0.105 0.595 0.233 0.588 0.16 (Table VI).
Beta 0.357 0.194 1.433 0.154 0.035*
Gamma 0.125 0.039 1.134 0.067 0.013* TABLE VII. GAMMA FREQUENCY BAND COMPARING BETWEEN BASELINE AND
*p < 0.05 BENCH PRESS WEIGHT TRAINING EXERCISE

Based on Table II, it was found that delta, theta and alpha EEG Power Baseline Training t p-value
Spectra Mean SD Mean SD 1.28 0.013*
frequency bands were not changed while beta and gamma
Gamma 0.125 0.039 1.134 0.067
frequency bands increased. Beta and gamma frequency bands
were gradually increased during bench press weight training *p < 0.05
exercise with statistically significant at the 0.05 level.
Finally, it was found that gamma frequency band also
TABLE III. DELTA FREQUENCY BAND COMPARING BETWEEN BASELINE AND increased with statistically significant during bench press
BENCH PRESS WEIGHT TRAINING weight training compared to baseline (baseline: 0.125±0.039µV;
EEG Power Baseline Training t p-value
training: 1.134±0.067µV; t(17) = 1.28; p=0.013) (Table VII).
Spectra Mean SD Mean SD 1.45 0.16
Delta 0.464 0.056 0.397 0.316 The present study is the first investigation to document
intensity related increases in EEG activity following bench
According to Table III, it was found that delta frequency press weight training. However, a few studies have examined
band decreased with no statistically significant during bench changes in EEG as a result of differing exercise intensities but
press weight training compared to baseline (baseline: none of these studies examined EEG following bench press
0.464±0.056µV; training: 0.397±0.316µV; t(17); p=0.16). weight training [20,21]. There was one study examined EEG
during a rest period following running five or six discontinuous
TABLE IV. THETA FREQUENCY BAND COMPARING BETWEEN BASELINE AND stages with increasing velocity [21]. Therefore, the results from
BENCH PRESS WEIGHT TRAINING
the present study are consistent with research from previous
EEG Power Baseline Training t p-value studies that following exercise there was an increase in EEG
Spectra Mean SD Mean SD 1.79 0.58 activity in the theta, alpha and/or beta frequencies [12,21-23].
Theta 0.138 0.063 0.202 0.954 One previous study reported decreases in alpha activity during
exercise, while the present investigation observed increases in
According to Table IV, it was found that theta frequency alpha activity [24]. Furthermore, a previous study conducted a
band increased with no statistical significant during bench press meta-analysis examining EEG responses during and after
weight training compared to baseline (baseline: 0.138±0.063µV; exercise and concluded that when compared to pre-exercise,
training: 0.202±0.954µV; t(17) = 1.79; p=0.58). alpha activity showed greater both during and following
exercise. They also found that delta, theta and beta activity
TABLE V. ALPHA FREQUENCY BAND COMPARING BETWEEN BASELINE AND increased during and following exercise [22]. Previous study
BENCH PRESS WEIGHT TRAINING
found an increase in the amplitude of the beta frequency range
EEG Power Baseline Training t p-value of EEG during cycling at 90W, but found no changes at lower
Spectra Mean SD Mean SD 1.66 0.16 workloads (50 – 80W) [25]. Moreover, one previous study also
Alpha 0.105 0.595 0.233 0.588 reported changes in EEG activity during 15 minutes of cycling
at progressively greater workloads (ranging from 50 to
Similar to delta and theta bands, it was found that alpha approximately 150W) [24]. In addition, one previous study
frequency band was found to be increased with no statistically found no change in either alpha or beta frequency bands from
significant during bench press weight training compared to pre- to post-exercise. However, they found a reductions in alpha

15
frequency band and increases in beta frequency band during
exercise [24].
Previous research showed that acute exercise increases CBF
[26] and it was suggested that exercise activates arousal
mechanisms within the brain, leading to improvements in
implicit information processing [27. Apart from these acute
effects, aerobic exercise training has been shown to increase
cerebral blood volume [28], perfusion [29], and the adult
hippocampal volume [30]. In addition, a cross-sectional study
revealed that aerobic fitness is positively associated with
functional connectivity in the Default Mode Network, and this,
in part, mediates better performance on tasks requiring set-
shifting, task switching, and spatial working memory [31].
Consistent with this, one year of regular walking increased
functional connectivity between parts of the frontal, posterior,
and temporal cortices [32]. Moreover, greater aerobic fitness
derived from a walking program was associated with increases
in white matter integrity in the frontal and temporal lobes and
greater improvement in memory performance [33]. However, in
order to create a better understanding of the acute effects of
exercise on brain activity, future investigations should determine
if EEG activity changes as a result of bench press weight training
in terms of duration (independent of exercise intensity) alone.
Furthermore, functional measures of brain activity (i.e. cognitive
function), affect and perception should be simultaneously
measured.
V. CONCLUSION
The resent study demonstrates that EEG activity could be
recorded during bench press weight training. The findings of the
study documented increases in beta and gamma frequency bands
during bench press weight training. Future studies may want to
examine how these changes in EEG influence or are associated
with changes in cognition, affect and/or perception during bench
press weight training.
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