The effect of verbal instruction on the electromyographic activity while performing the seated-row exercise, with and without pre-exhaustion.

This study seeks to investigate the effect of verbal instruction (VI) on muscle activity, with and without muscular pre-exhaustion (PE) on the temporal domain of the surface electromyographic activity (sEMG). Given that PE and VI seem to modify the muscle sEMG, twenty men performed four randomized-sets of seated-row with and without PE, with and without VI, at 70%1RM. sEMG was recorded from the latissimus dorsi, teres major, biceps brachii and posterior deltoid, The results indicate that PE does not influence the muscles sEMG at/in any moment, although VI increased the latissimus dorsi sEMG at initial repetitions (p=0,049). Finally, PE has shown a lower number of repetitions during the seated row (p< 0,001). Our findings do not support that PE increases sEMG in the involved muscles. Furthermore, PE may have a disadvantageous effect on performance. Finally, VI has effectiveness to increase sEMG in initial moments of the exercise.