Maximum strength tests
concentric muscle failure
Following a standardized warm-up procedure (5 min running), grip, upper and lower body strength tests were conducted. Grip strength of both hands was assessed using a digital hand-held dynamometer (digital Jamar+, Fabrication Enterprises, New York, United States). For testing, volunteers were seated upright on a chair with their elbows bent at 90° and in contact with the body. Then they were instructed to press the handle of the device as forcefully as possible for at least five seconds without changing their position. Three trials were carried out for each side. Maximum strength was measured alternately. The rest period between repetitions on each side was 120 s. The best trial was documented for further analysis. For testing lower body strength, a “touch and go” barbell box squat (femur parallel to the floor, 90° knee angle) was used. The height of the box was individually adjusted for each subject and maintained throughout the RT period and during retesting. After a minimum of five minutes of rest, upper body strength was assessed using the free weight BP exercise. For this, grip widths were documented and stipulated throughout the study. For both tests, the participants first completed ten repetitions with an empty bar, followed by a two-minute rest period. A second warm-up set of ten repetitions was then performed with at approximately 50% of the predicted ten-repetition maximum load. Following four-minute rest, a final set was performed to the point of momentary concentric muscle failure or failure of proper exercise technique. This was done by pre-setting a load that the research team estimated would allow one to ten repetitions. Both exercises are well-established exercises for determining strength ability and upper and lower body performance [