Tennis players who grunt while hitting the ball give the ball 3.8% more speed than when not grunting. This is the outcome of an upcoming study in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research (1). A good reason to write about the “power of the grunt,” which according to some studies yields 12% more power in strength training and is traditionally used in martial arts.
Excessive Grunting
When originally writing this article, I stated:
“Fuck Planet Fitness!”
This “gym that isn’t a gym” where members aren’t allowed to grunt to exert extra power during their exercises. This grunt is said to be intimidating to other members.
“Gymtimidation” they call it. Cleverly put, but it remains a marketing ploy to attract losers.
“There, I fucking said it.”
Perhaps not very smart to state it like this since it turns out that I have indirectly called a portion of our readers “losers.” Yesterday, another article of mine about gym etiquette was posted on our Facebook page.
In addition to the irritations I mentioned in the gym, grunting during training was reported several times as the most disturbing. I wrote this current article earlier, but given the responses, I found an update necessary.
Am I now one of those obnoxious über-macho-pornstar-wannabe grunters that everyone rightly annoys, or are these readers people who have never trained hard enough to appreciate the added value of grunting?
As often, the answer lies in the nuances.
Why Grunt?
Grunting to be able to do that one or few extra repetitions, where you have to draw strength from your toes to perform these repetitions (possibly with help), is exactly what the sport is about:
Pushing your limits and surpassing them to become stronger every time.
If you walk into the gym every week and just do “your usual rounds” without really pushing yourself, then indeed you won’t understand why grunting is necessary.
In my opinion, this is due to your limited effort and lower goals.
It’s a bit like those kids who, after running a hundred meters in gym class, sit down on the grass and call you crazy for trying to run as far as possible in 11 minutes.
However, there’s the well-known principle of the gorilla pounding its chest extra hard when an attractive lady is nearby. The gorilla that starts grunting from the first repetition while easily cranking out ten more afterward.
Something doesn’t add up here.
If you can do ten reps, it’s impossible for the first one to require so much effort that grunting is necessary. You might as well announce with a megaphone:
“Look at me!!”
“I crave attention, I’m actually quite insecure, and I hope to appear extra masculine now.”
So, I completely understand that there are situations where grunting is very annoying. However, I will substantiate below that it can certainly be functional if used at the right moments!
And yes, afterward, I will address the complaint about grunting and other untreated complaints about behavior in the gym in an update on gym etiquette.
Grunting in Tennis
American researchers wanted to know the effect of grunting in tennis on factors such as ball speed (1). They also looked at things like maximum oxygen uptake, ratio of oxygen uptake to consumption, and heart rate.
For this, they had five men and five women, all competitive at the university level, repeatedly hit forehands and backhands.
They did this sometimes without grunting and other times with (and vice versa).
The researchers found that grunting significantly increased ball speed while not affecting energy consumption expressed in factors such as oxygen processing and heart rate.
Grunting increased ball velocity (kph) 3.8% compared to non-grunting condition (p < 0.034) with the M +/- SD being 83.4 +/- .6.1 and 80.3 +/- .8.7, respectively. It may be worthwhile for players and coaches in tennis as well as other sports to experiment with grunting to determine possible improvement in performance.
E.R. Callison, University of Nebraska
Strength Training and Grunting
Another study (2) shows that the sound you make during exertion doesn’t make the exercise easier or harder. It does, however, increase your power output.
When men were given a 10% heavier weight than they were used to and asked to perform a bench press with it, the ones who grunted were able to lift 12% more weight than those who didn’t.
In a second round, the researchers repeated the experiment with the same group, but this time the participants wore earplugs. Not being able to hear themselves grunt didn’t have any effect; they were still able to exert 12% more power.
How is this possible?
It’s likely a similar phenomenon to the hormonal response that I previously wrote about.
By grunting, you activate your sympathetic nervous system, which gives you an adrenaline boost, enabling you to produce more force.
Another possible explanation is that your opponent gets the impression that you’re working extra hard and will therefore find it harder to keep up with you.
Are you grunting while training?
Is it effective?
Or are you one of those gym goers who think they’re the king of the gym but just annoy the rest?
Let me know!
Do you also notice that you can exert more force by grunting?
Or do you also find grunting annoying?
Leave your reaction in the comments below.
If you find this subject interesting, share it with your friends and acquaintances.
Sources:
- International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching. 2022 Jan 01. Grunting in tennis: effects on ball velocity, performance variables, and perceptions.
- Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2022 Jan 01. Effects of Auditory Cuing on Bench Press Performance and Neuromuscular Activity in Male Athletes.
