ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2015 March;174(3):105-11

Copyright © 2015 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Effect of eccentric velocity on muscle damage markers after bench press exercise in resistance-trained men

Carvalho T. B. ¹, Crisp A. H. ¹, Lopes C. R. ^{1, 2}, Crepaldi M. D. ¹, Calixto R. D. ¹, Pereira A. A. ¹, Silva J. O. ¹, Yamada A. K. ¹, Marchetti P. H. ¹, Verlengia R. ¹

¹ Human Performance Research Group, College of Health Science (FACIS), Methodist University of Piracicaba (UNIMEP), Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil; ² Faculty Adventist of Hortolandia (UNASP), Hortolandia, Sao Paulo, Brazil

AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine how the execution velocity of eccentric exercises affects postexercise muscle damage in resistance-trained males using free-weight exercises.
METHODS: Twenty young males were divided by maximum eccentric strength into two groups: slow eccentric velocity (SEV, N.=10) and fast eccentric velocity (FEV, N.=10). Both groups performed four sets of eight repetitions with 70% of their one repetition maximum eccentric in a bench press exercise with a 2-minute rest interval between sets. Each group lifted an equal total volume load. The eccentric velocity was controlled to 3 seconds for the SEV group and 0.5 seconds for the FEV group. The 1RM test, delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and creatine kinase (CK) activity were evaluated before and up to 96 hours postexercise.
RESULTS: A significant reduction (compared with baseline values) in 1RM test was observed up to 48 hours postexercise for the FEV group, while a significant reduction for the SEV group was only observed at 24 hours. The FEV group had a significant increase in DOMS up to 72 hours postexercise while the SEV group experienced an increase lasting up to 48 hours. The serum CK activity increased significantly only at 72 hours postexercise for both groups. There were no significant differences for any of the indirect analyses of muscle damage when the values were compared between groups.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, a six-fold difference in eccentric velocity was not sufficient to induce a difference in muscle damage when the total volume load was equalized. However, FEV required a longer period to recover neuromuscular performance when compared with baseline values.