Effects of Imagery-Weight Exercise
Dootchai Chaiwanichsiri MD*, Sarissa Tangkaewfa MD*, Siriporn Janchai MD*, Sek Aksaranugraha MD**
Affiliation : * Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University ** Rehabilitation Center, Thai Red Cross Society
Objective : To study the effects of imagery-weight exercise on muscle strength.
Materials and Methods : Preliminary study of a before and after designed experiment was conducted at the
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, from June to
September 2004. Fifteen healthy sedentary volunteers: 5 males, 10 females, mean age 28.7 + 3.5 years were
enrolled. The participants were instructed to perform imagery-weight exercise training with their non-
dominant arms. The program consisted of 3 sets of 10 repetitions of elbow flexion, 3 days/week, for 8 weeks.
The arm muscles strength were assessed with computerized isotonic machine. One-Repetition Maximum (1-
RM) at before and after the training program, was compared.
Results : The mean 1-RM of elbow flexors increased by 44.9% (from 6.78 + 2.10 kg to 9.83 + 2.32 kg, p =
0.000). The mean 1-RM of elbow extensors increased by 32.0% (from 4.03 + 1.98 kg to 5.33 + 2.32 kg, p =
0.000).
Conclusion : Imagery-weight exercise is another effective technique of low impact strength training.
Keywords : Exercise, Strength training, Muscle, Imagery
