Reliability of 1RM, 5RM and 10RM Tests in Upper Body Resistance Exercises

Research designs that examine the effect of training or similar intervention in sports sciences are widely used. In such designs, the reliability of the data obtained from the pre-test or post-test is very important. The aim of this study is to examine the reliability of 1RM (1 repeat maximum), 5RM and 10RM tests in upper body exercises (bench press, shoulder press, biceps curl and triceps extension). 23 male who have low (1 year or less) training experience participated in this study voluntarily. After one familiarization training, 1RM, 5RM and 10RM tests for four different exercises were applied two times in two-three days intervals. Differences between two measurements and test-retest reliability were analyzed. According to the results, in total 12 tests, the significant difference was found between first test and second test in two tests (BC 1RM and TE 1RM), whereas there was no significant difference between the measurements in the other 10 tests. To determine the reliability of the tests and compare with other studies, Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC): 0.945-0.993; coefficient of variation (CV): 1.25-3.33%; typical error of measurements (TEM): 0.84-2.25; smallest worthwhile change (SWC): 0.97-2.25; Pearson correlation coefficient (r): 0.919-0.988; Effect size (ES): 0.01-0.34 were calculated. As a result, 1RM, 5RM and 10RM tests were found to have high reliability, but it was found that there was the significant difference between 1RM test-retest in biceps curl and triceps extension exercises involving small muscle groups. Therefore, in this study, it has been recommended to perform at least two tests to ensure the reliability of the 1RM test in individuals who have low training level