Influence of very short rest period lengths on repeated one maximun repetition bench press performance

Abstract

Abstract Objective The purpose of this investigation was to compare different rest period lengths between consecutive one maximum repetition bench press attempts on performance and ratings of perceived exertion. Method Eighteen trained men (27.95 ± 4.25 years; 81.00 ± 9.21 kg; 174.62 ± 3.34 cm; bench press relative strength 1.33 ± 0.11 kg/kg of body mass) participated in three randomly ordered sessions that required two consecutive one maximum repetition bench press attempts with 20, 40, or 60-s rest between attempts. Results The Cochran Q analysis showed no significant differences in the ability to successfully perform a second one maximum repetition attempt with 20, 40, or 60-s rest between attempts ( p = 0.882). Specifically, no significant differences were found in the successful completion of the first and second attempts for the 20-s ( p = 0.317), 40-s ( p = 0.083), and 60-s ( p = 0.157) trials, respectively. Briefly, for both 20 and 60-s rest conditions Δ% = 88.88% of subjects successfully performed the second attempt and, for the 40-s protocol, only Δ% = 83.33% completed. For the pre and post-set ratings of perceived exertion, the shorter rest period (20-s) promoted significantly higher values compared to the longer rest periods (pre-set ratings of perceived exertion, p = 0.04; post-set ratings of perceived exertion, p = 0.023). Conclusions The results of this study can be applied to recreationally trained individuals with the intent of generating a time-efficient process for conducting a valid and reliable one maximum repetition bench press assessment.