Abstract:

The study aimed to compare the influence of the thumb position on the maximum number of repetitions (MNR) performed in the bench press exercise, over three series. Twenty-two men were divided into two groups according to the time of practice in strength. The first group was formed by 11 men with more than 3 years of practice in strength training and the second group was composed by 11 men between 1 to 6 months of practice in strength training. In one session, 11 men performed the MNR over 3 sets at 80% of 1RM with the thumb surrounding the bar (closed thumb), and the other 11 performed the exercise without this thumb modification (open thumb). In the subsequent session, this order was reversed. The ANOVA test compared the number of repetitions between groups within the conditions, with a significance level set as α = 0.05. There was no statistically significant difference when comparing the maximum number of repetitions between the two conditions, in both groups and sets (p = 0.771). The manipulation in the position of the body segment through a change in the positioning of the thumb was not enough to modify the MNR in the sessions provided for between the conditions.

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