ARTICOLI ORIGINALI   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2014 May;173(5):251-7

Copyright © 2014 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Influence of exercise order on strength in Judo athletes

Saraiva A. ¹, Pinto G. S. ¹, Costa Silva G. ², Bentes C. ², Miranda H. ², Novaes J. ²

¹ Research Center for Sport, Health and Human Development (CIDESD), University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), Vila Real, Portugal; ² Physical Education Post-Graduation Program, School of Physical Education and Sports, Rio de Janeiro Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

AIM: Aim of the study was to examine the effects of exercise order on muscle strength gains (ten-repetition maximum tests) in Judo athletes during a 12-week resistance exercise program.
METHODS: Thirty-nine male professional athletes were divided into two experimental groups, group 1 [G1 (n=13)] and group 2 [G2=13)], and one control group [CG (n=13)]. G1 and G2 performed 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions per set for all exercises. The following exercise order was used in G1: bench press (BP), lat pull-down (LA), shoulder press (SP), arm curl (AC), squat (SQ), leg press (LP), leg extension (LE) and leg curl (LC). For G2, the exercises were performed in the following order: SQ, LP, LE, LC, BP, LA, SP and AC. The CG didn’t perform any formal exercise program. Statistical analyses were performed using two-way repeated ANOVAs (moments x groups) with Tukey’s post hoc tests.
RESULTS: Within-group comparisons revealed significant increases (P<0.05) in 10RM test performances in the two experimental groups, but not in the control group. Between-group comparisons revealed significant differences (P<0.05) in 10RM tests when comparing G1post vs. CGpost in the SP and AC exercises and when comparing G2post vs. CGpost in the SP, SQ, LP and LE exercises.
CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that RT sessions should begin with lower body exercises that require greater emphasis (according to the program objectives). A practical recommendation based on the results of the present study is that both of the strength training programs investigated are effective in promoting strength gains.