INTRODUCTION: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, have been used by athletes of several sports modalities in order to increase athletic performance. OBJECTIVE: To verify the effect of the prophylactic use of ibuprofen on performance in a strength training session. METHODS: A crossover, randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled clinical assay was developed with twelve male regular practitioners of strength training who performed one strength training session after ibuprofen (1.2 g) ingestion and another session after placebo ingestion. Six series of bench press and squat exercises were performed in each training session with constant load corresponding to 65% of the 1RM in each exercise. The training performance was measured through the number of repetitions that volunteers have accomplished in each exercise series of each strength training session. RESULTS: No significant performance differences were verified in strength training with previous administration of placebo or ibuprofen (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Ibuprofen administration at the same parameters adopted by the present study does not promote any change on tolerance to exercise in a single strength training session, a fact which is contrary to the administration of this substance for ergogenic purposes in strength training.
non-steroidal anti-inflammatories; strenght training; performance
