Although the use of maximum repetition tests (1-RM) is frequent for assessment of the muscular strength, one believes that the results obtained may be affected by the lack of previous familiarization, even in skilled subjects in exercises with weights. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the impact of the familiarization process on the muscular strength assessment in 1-RM tests. To do so, 21 men (24.5 ± 3.8 years of age), apparently healthy and with previous experience of at least six months on weight training, were submitted to repetitive tests of 1-RM in bench press, squat, and arm curl exercises. The tests were performed in four sessions with intervals every 48-72 hours. A maximum number of three attempts with 3-5 minutes interval for recovery was used in each exercise in the four testing sessions. The analysis of variance ANOVA for repeated measures followed by the post hoc Tukey test when p < 0.05 were used for the data treatment. Significant increases on the muscular strength (p < 0.01) were found in the three exercises analyzed between the first and the fourth familiarization session (2.4% in bench press, 3.4% in squat, and 5.4% in the arm curl). However, no statistically significant difference was found between the second and fourth familiarization sessions in the arm curl (p > 0.05) as well as between the third and fourth sessions in the bench press and squat (p > 0.05). The results indicate that the lack of previous familiarization with 1-RM tests may impair the muscular strength evaluation. Therefore, the performance of two to three familiarization sessions in adult men with previous experience with weightlifting is suggested for a more accurate muscular strength assessment by means of the 1-RM tests.
Muscular strength; Weight exercises; Neural adaptations; 1-RM tests; Familiarization
