Acute effect of three different warm-up protocols on maximal isokinetic strength in young men

Objective: To investigate the acute effect of three different warm-up protocols on a maximal isokinetic strength test. Methods: Twenty-two male, recreational athletes involved in regular resistance training were evaluated. Subjects performed a maximal isokinetic strength test of the knee extensors in an isokinetic dynamometer after completing a control session or one of the following warm-up protocols using a randomized design: a general warm-up, stretching warm-up, or specific warm-up. The comparison between treatments was completed through Repeated-Measures Analysis of Variance, followed by a Bonferroni “post hoc” test (p < 0.05). Results: The only difference found was the concentric peak moment following the application of the specific warm-up protocol, which was lower than the control session (12.94%; p < 0.05). No other differences were noted in eccentric peak movement or total work (concentric + eccentric) parameter after application of any the warm-up protocols within control condition (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The finding of this investigation showed that none of warm-up protocols applied were able to change the total work of maximal isokinetic strength. Thus, our investigation suggests that the general warm-up, stretching warm-up and specific warm-up have had no adverse or improved effectiveness on acute muscle strength capacity.