ReviewSports medicine - open2020
Test-Retest Reliability of the One-Repetition Maximum (1RM) Strength Assessment: a Systematic Review.
Review in Sports medicine - open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 188 papers, 20 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
188 citing papers in PubMed, 20 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 335 citations in OpenAlex.
- Reliability, Device Agreement and Validity of Load-Velocity Profiles: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2026Pooled it
- Quantitative assessment of efficacy and evaluation of feasibility of exercise training protocols in adult and pediatric primary mitochondrial disease.BMC medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Relative effectiveness of different resistance training modalities on lower-body strength and explosive power: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Creatine supplementation in young men under resistance versus non-resistance training: a systematic review and meta-analysis of strength, performance, and lean mass.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Task Specificity of Dynamic Resistance Training and Its Transferability to Non-trained Isometric Muscle Strength: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of blood flow restriction combined with high-load training on muscle strength and sports performance in athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Pooled it
- Resistance is not futile: a systematic review of the benefits, mechanisms and safety of resistance training in people with heart failure.Heart failure reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Plyometric Jump Training Effects on Maximal Strength in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis of Randomized-Controlled Studies.Sports medicine - open · 2024Pooled it
- The Predictive Validity of Individualised Load-Velocity Relationships for Predicting 1RM: A Systematic Review and Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Plyometric-Jump Training Effects on Physical Fitness and Sport-Specific Performance According to Maturity: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2023Pooled it
- Do people with musculoskeletal pain differ from healthy cohorts in terms of global measures of strength? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitation · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Are Trainees Lifting Heavy Enough? Self-Selected Loads in Resistance Exercise: A Scoping Review and Exploratory Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2022Pooled it
- The effects of plyometric jump training on physical fitness attributes in basketball players: A meta-analysis.Journal of sport and health science · 2022Pooled it
- Effects of Plyometric Jump Training on Measures of Physical Fitness and Sport-Specific Performance of Water Sports Athletes: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Internal Validity in Resistance Training Research: A Systematic Review.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of resistance training during adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy in cancer care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Load-velocity relationships and predicted maximal strength: A systematic review of the validity and reliability of current methods.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Auto-Regulation Method vs. Fixed-Loading Method in Maximum Strength Training for Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Pooled it
128 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe test-retest reliability of the one-repetition maximum (1RM) test varies across different studies. Given the inconsistent findings, it is unclear what the true reliability of the 1RM test is, and to what extent it is affected by measurement-related factors, such as exercise selection for the test, the number of familiarization trials and resistance training experience.
objectivesThe aim of this paper was to review studies that investigated the reliability of the 1RM test of muscular strength and summarize their findings.
methodsThe PRISMA guidelines were followed for this systematic review. Searches for studies were conducted through eight databases. Studies that investigated test-retest reliability of the 1RM test and presented intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and/or coefficient of variation (CV) were included. The COSMIN checklist was used for the assessment of the methodological quality of the included studies.
resultsAfter reviewing 1024 search records, 32 studies (pooled n = 1595) on test-retest reliability of 1RM assessment were found. All the studies were of moderate or excellent methodological quality. Test-retest ICCs ranged from 0.64 to 0.99 (median ICC = 0.97), where 92% of ICCs were ≥ 0.90, and 97% of ICCs were ≥ 0.80. The CVs ranged from 0.5 to 12.1% (median CV = 4.2%). ICCs were generally high (≥ 0.90), and most CVs were low (< 10%) for 1RM tests: (1) among those without and for those with some resistance training experience, (2) conducted with or without familiarization sessions, (3) with single-joint or multi-joint exercises, (4) for upper- and lower-body strength assessment, (5) among females and males, and (6) among young to middle-aged adults and among older adults. Most studies did not find systematic changes in test results between the trials.
conclusionsBased on the results of this review, it can be concluded that the 1RM test generally has good to excellent test-retest reliability, regardless of resistance training experience, number of familiarization sessions, exercise selection, part of the body assessed (upper vs. lower body), and sex or age of participants. Researchers and practitioners, therefore, can use the 1RM test as a reliable test of muscular strength.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.