ASEP Procedures Recommendation ASEP PROCEDURES RECOMMENDATION I: ACCURATE ASSESSMENT OF MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND POWER

LEE E. BROWN AND JOSEPH P. WEIR. ASEP Procedures Recommendation I: Accurate Assessment Of Muscular Strength And Power. JEPonline. 2001;4(3):1-21. The content of this manuscript is intended to assist the reader in collecting valid and reliable data for quantifying muscular strength and power. Various drawbacks and pitfalls of specific tests, as well as recommendations for the practitioner are also provided. The content is divided into sections covering isometric, isotonic, field tests, and isokinetic modes of exercise. Inherent in these modes are both concentric and eccentric muscle actions as well as both open and closed kinetic chain activities. For Isometric testing, contractions should occur over a four to five seconds duration with a one second transition period at the start of the contraction. At least one minute of rest should be provided between contractions. For each muscle tested at each position, at least three contractions should be performed although more may be performed if deemed necessary by the tester. For isotonic testing, the 1-RM test should be performed. After the general warm-up, the subject should perform a specific warm-up set of 8 repetitions at approximately 50% of the estimated 1-RM followed by another set of 3 repetitions at 70% of the estimated 1RM. Subsequent lifts are single repetitions of progressively heavier weights until failure. Repeat until the 1-RM is determined to the desired level of precision. The rest interval between sets should be not less than one and not more than five minutes. The optimal number of single repetitions ranges from three to five. Data and guidelines of the following field tests are also provided; vertical jump, bench press, Wingate anaerobic cycle test (WAT), and the Margaria stair-run test. For isokinetic testing, details are provided for testing peak torque, work, power, endurance, and estimation of fiber type percentages. Key Tems: Resistance, Exercise, Isokinetic, Isotonic, Isometric, Contraction Accurate Assessment of Muscular Strength and Power 2