Repetitions to failure and pain perception
Muscular failure, muscular failure, pain
Muscular endurance was evaluated by having the participants complete one set of repetitions to muscular failure in the squat and bench press using 60% of 1RM (from 1RM measured at each trial). During the set, the number of completed repetitions was counted out loud by the test leader. No breaks were allowed between repetitions. Technical requirements were the same as in the 1RM tests. Muscular failure was defined as not being able to complete a full repetition without assistance or failing to keep up the standardized tempo set by the test leader on two consecutive repetitions. Specifically, if a participant included too long of a pause (> 1 s) between muscle actions, a warning from the test leader was provided; if the same occurred in the next repetition, this was deemed as muscular failure, thus denoting the end of the test. Within 15 s of completion of the test, the participants were required to rate their perceived pain on an 11-point numerical rating scale, with the instructions that 0 points were equivalent to “no pain” and 10 points were their “worst imaginable pain” [Mean ± standard deviation for each condition