The Effects of Resistance Exercise Selection on Muscle Size and
Strength in Trained Women

Matheus Barbalho; Daniel Souza; Victor Coswig; Odilon Abrahin; Antonio Paoli; Paulo Gentil

doi:10.1055/a-1121-7736

International Journal of Sports Medicine, Table of Contents

Int J Sports Med 2021; 42(04): 371-376
DOI: 10.1055/a-1121-7736

Training & Testing

The Effects of Resistance Exercise Selection on Muscle Size and Strength in Trained Women

Matheus Barbalho

¹Faculdade de Educação Física e Dança, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiania, Brazil

,

Daniel Souza

¹Faculdade de Educação Física e Dança, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiania, Brazil

,

Victor Coswig

²Faculdade de Educação Fisica, Universidade Federal do Pará, Castanhal, Brazil

,

Odilon Abrahin

³Departamento de Educação Física, Universidade do Estado do Pará, Belem, Brazil

,

Antonio Paoli

⁴Departament of Biomedical Sciences, Universita degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy

,

Paulo Gentil

¹Faculdade de Educação Física e Dança, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiania, Brazil

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

The study compared the effects of resistance training programs composed by multi-joint (MJ), single-joint (SJ) and the combination of multi- and single-joint (MJ+SJ) exercises on muscle strength and hypertrophy in trained women. Thirty participants were divided into groups that performed only MJ exercises, SJ exercises and MJ+SJ exercises for six months. Participants were tested for 1-repetition maximum (RM) and muscle thickness (MT) before and after the intervention. All groups showed significant gains on 1RM tests from pre- to post-training (P<0.01). However, MJ and MJ+SJ groups obtained greater gains in 1RM for the MJ exercises in comparison with the SJ group. Increases in 1RM for the SJ exercises were similar among groups, with the exception of leg curl, where the SJ group obtained greater gains than MJ and MJ+SJ. All groups obtained significant increases in MT from pre- to post-training for all muscle groups. However, MJ and MJ+SJ groups presented greater increases in gluteus maximus, quadriceps femoris and pectoralis major in comparison with the SJ group. Therefore, our results suggest that, in general, performing MJ exercises seems to be necessary to obtain optimal results from a resistance training program; however SJ might be necessary to provide optimal strength gains in knee flexion.

Key words

muscle strength - hypertrophy - compound exercise - isolation exercise - exercise selection - training efficiency

Full Text

References

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