Influence of strength level on rest interval required during an upper-body power training session

ABSTRACTThe present study aimed to investigate the influence of subjectsʼ strength level on both the ability to maintain power output performance and the physiological and perceived exertion responses during a power training session when different rest intervals (RI) are used. Thirty-eight (18 males and 20 females) subjects were divided into a stronger or weaker group, based on their ability to produce peak power output. Testing was performed using the same protocol (5 sets of 8 repetitions with 40% of 1 repetition maximum) in the bench press throw exercise, but differing the RI between sets (1, 2 and 3 minutes). During the sessions, mechanical (peak power), physiological ([La]) and perceptual (RPE) variables were measured. In addition delayed onset muscular soreness (DOMS) 24 and 48 hours after the training session were reported. Both stronger and weaker (males and females) groups showed significant impairments in mechanical, physiological, and perceptual data when resting 1 min. Nevertheless, while stronger groups were able to sustain power output over the sets when using the 2 min RI, weaker groups needed at least 3 min to maintain power output performance. Therefore, strength level heavily influences the rest interval required during a power training session and should be taken into account when prescribing such training sessions.