The purpose of this study was to determine the number of familiarization sessions for stabilizing the load of one repetition maximum (1RM) tests on the squat exercise in men and women. Eight men (25 ± 4 years) and eight women (20 ± 1 years) underwent five experimental sessions. ANOVA and Bland-Altman plotting were used to compare the 1RM load between the sessions (p<0.05). The stabilization of load occurred at the fourth session for men and at the third session for women, with significantly increased in relative and absolute strength from the first to the fourth (17kg and 19%) and from the first to the third (9kg and 14%) session, respectively. However, relative strength did not differ significantly between genders. According to our results, individuals not experienced with strength training can reach high reliability in the 1RM test in the squat exercise, after performing three or four familiarizations sessions.
Reproducibility; Strength training; Muscle strength assessment
