Mixed
Resistance training protocols must report within-exercise variables beyond load and repetitions—including failure status, range of motion, time under tension, and attentional focus—to accurately determine the training stimulus.
When designing or documenting a resistance training program, do not just list the weight and number of reps. You must also specify whether sets were taken to failure, the range of motion used (full or partial), the speed/tempo of each phase, and whether the athlete used an internal or external focus. This level of detail is required to replicate the stimulus and ensure the training is effective.
Sports scientists and practitioners are invited to list all aforementioned variables for each exercise when reporting resistance training protocols.
Why this rating
Based on a conceptual review citing multiple meta-analyses and systematic reviews.
Source
Appropriate Reporting of Exercise Variables in Resistance Training Protocols: Much more than Load and Number of Repetitions
Giuseppe Coratella · Sports Medicine - Open · 2022
DOI 10.1186/s40798-022-00492-1
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- Training to failure produces greater hypertrophic adaptations than training not to failure, but only when total volume is not equated; when volume is equated, the two methods yield equivalent results.Good
- High loads (>60% 1RM) are superior to low loads for maximizing strength gains, while both high and low loads can produce similar hypertrophy if performed to failure.Good
- Full range of motion (ROM) produces greater strength gains in full ROM tasks and greater hypertrophy in specific muscles (e.g., gluteus maximus) compared to partial ROM, although partial ROM can be used to overcome sticking points.Good
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