Time under tension and mechanical variables in the bench press exercise at different rest intervals

Purpose: To analyze the behavior of time under tension (TUT), total work (TW), power (PW), mean velocity (MV), and number of repetitions (NR) during the bench press exercise with distinct rest intervals. Methods: Twenty-one wrestling athletes (body mass: 81.27 ± 14.25kg; height: 1.74 ± 0.07m) completed 5 sets, each consisting of a maximum of 10 repetitions, with either a 1-minute rest interval (RI1) or a 3-minute rest interval (RI3). Results: TUT was higher in RI3 when compared to RI1 in set 5 (p<0.001). NR was higher in RI3 compared to RI1 in set 3 (p=0.016), set 4 (p=0.021), and set 5 (p<0.001). TW was higher in RI3 compared to RI1 in set 3 (p=0.005), set 4 (p=0.007), and set 5 (p<0.001). MV was higher in RI3 compared to RI1 in set 4 (p=0.029) and set 5 (p<0.001). PW was higher in RI3 compared to RI1 in set 4 (p=0.044) and set 5 (p<0.001). Conclusion: The behavior of consecutive sets with a similar number of repetitions but with an increase in TUT or sets with a similar TUT but with a lower number of repetitions were found. Third set appears to be a point of performance reduction worth considering depending on the exercise's goal. Keywords: time under tension; number of repetitions; bench press; rest interval between sets; mechanical variables.