EFFECTS OF PRE-EXHAUSTION TRAINING ON THE BODY COMPOSITION AND MUSCLE STRENGTH OF UNTRAINED YOUNG MALES
Keywords: Strength training; 1RM; leg press; lean body mass; fat body mass.
Pre-exhaustion is defined as an advanced strength training method, in which two or more exercises are executed in quick succession with the goal of maximizing strength and hypertrophy gains in the targeted muscle. However, the available evidence regarding the chronic effects of this method is very limited. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of the inclusion of an isolated exhaustive exercise, performed immediately before a traditional high-intensity strength training routine, on strength and body composition of young men. We distributed thirty-five untrained subjects randomly in three groups: traditional (n=12), pre-exhaustion (n=12) and control (n=11). All subjects were assessed for maximum strength (1RM test) and body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry - DEXA) before and after a 9-week strength training program. We presented the statistical analysis through the mean, standard deviation and 95% confidence interval of the absolute values as well as the magnitude of change between assessments. Inferentially, we used (1) a one-way ANOVA (Tukey’s post-hoc test) to identify differences between magnitudes of change in each group; and (2) the Effect Size (ES) for independent samples. We found that pre-exhaustion is dispensable for untrained subjects aiming to reduce body fat percentage as well as gain strength in multi-joint exercises. However, this method proved effective in the reduction of total training volume, without any hindering of dynamic and maximum strength gains, as well as lower limb lean muscle mass, with the pre-exhaustion group even presenting a higher increase in maximum strength.