Upper-body muscular strength (pooled composite)

Method

Meta-analytic aggregate of upper-body strength across whichever tests the primary trials used — chest press, bench press, elbow flexion, lat pulldown — reported as a standardised mean difference, or in kilograms where the review pooled a common test. The constituent tests are listed on the edge, as is whether handgrip was folded in.

The method is part of the endpoint identity. Studies measuring the same quantity by a different method are held as separate endpoints.

Notes

Confused with bench-press one-repetition maximum, which is a single lift and belongs on the existing 1RM strength node. A region-level aggregate is not a lift: a review reporting +4.43 kg for 'upper body' and a review reporting +1.43 kg for bench press are not measuring the same quantity even when both concern the same intervention in the same population, and treating them as replicates counts a composite as evidence for its own component. Also distinct from handgrip strength, a dynamometer reading that most reviews report separately but some absorb into this composite — whether it was included changes what the number means. And distinct from the lower-body composite, which shares this node's construction but not its muscles.

Findings

4 findings from 2 compounds, strongest first.

• creatine — increases

  BLikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.Findingreplicated ×1

  “Overall, Cr significantly increased measures of upper-body strength (7 studies, n = 142, p = 0.04), with no effect on lower-body strength or measures of muscle mass.”

  Study

  meta-analysis

  Participants

  142

  Population

  Older females performing resistance training

  Efficacy of Creatine Supplementation Combined with Resistance Training on Muscle Strength and Muscle Mass in Older Females: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.2021PMID:34836013

• creatine — increases

  BLikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.Findingreplicated ×1

  “In comparison with a placebo, creatine supplementation combined with resistance training significantly increased upper-body (WMD = 4.43 kg, p < 0.001) and lower-body strength (WMD = 11.35 kg, p < 0.001).”

  Study

  meta-analysis

  Population

  adults <50 years of age undertaking resistance training

  Effects of Creatine Supplementation and Resistance Training on Muscle Strength Gains in Adults <50 Years of Age: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.2024PMID:39519498An author is affiliated with a producer

• caffeine — increases

  BLikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.Findingreplicated ×1

  “In a subgroup analysis that considered only upper-body 1RM tests, there was a significant ergogenic effect of caffeine (SMD: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.26; p < 0.001; I2 = 0%).”

  Study

  meta-analysis

  Population

  Healthy adult women; subgroup analysis restricted to upper-body 1RM tests (bench press, bicep curl, lat pull-down, shoulder press, row), not the overall estimate

  Effect 0.17 standardised mean difference, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.26

  Ergogenic Effects of Acute Caffeine Intake on Muscular Endurance and Muscular Strength in Women: A Meta-Analysis.2021PMID:34072182

• caffeine — increases

  BLikelyGrade B, Likely. Human evidence, limited replication or design limits.Findingreplicated ×1

  “A subgroup analysis indicated that caffeine significantly improves upper (SMD = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.39; p = 0.026; Fig. 3) but not lower body strength (SMD = 0.15; 95% CI: -0.05, 0.34; p = 0.147; Fig. 4).”

  Study

  meta-analysis

  Dose

  Acute pre-exercise ingestion (capsule, liquid or gel), mean 4.7 mg/kg, range 0.9-6 mg/kg, 45-60 min before testing

  Population

  Healthy adolescent and young-adult participants, trained and untrained, of both sexes; UPPER-BODY SUBGROUP of the pooled 1RM maximal-strength analysis, not the overall estimate. Constituent tests: bench press, machine bench press, lat pulldown.

  Effect 0.21 standardised mean difference, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.39

  Effects of caffeine intake on muscle strength and power: a systematic review and meta-analysis.2018PMID:29527137