Acute fatigue, and perceptual responses to resistance exercise

INTRODUCTION: Despite assumptions, there is an absence of research on acute fatigue responses to high- and low-load and advanced technique resistance exercise. METHODS: Trained males (n=8; 27.2 ±7.4years; 180.0 ± 6.6cm; 86.6 ±10.3kg) were assessed for decrement in maximal voluntary isometric torque (MViT) and perceived effort and discomfort following heavier load (HL; 80% MViT), lighter load (LL; 30% MViT), forced repetitions (FR) and breakdown set (BD) training protocols. RESULTS: Analyses revealed a significant reduction in MViT (p < 0.05) with a significant between condition effect, and significant post hoc pairwise comparisons between LL and both HL (p = 0.044) and FR (p = 0.013). There were no significant between condition effects for effort or discomfort (p > 0.05). DISCUSSION: Fatigue as a decrement in force production appears to follow a more complex relationship than simply 100% minus the force requirements of the task relative to a maximal voluntary contraction.