Gender differences in hockey players during on-ice graded exercise

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Exercise Physiology
• Hockey Performance

Background:

• Understanding gender-based physiological differences is crucial for optimizing athletic training.
• Assessing aerobic capacity markers like ventilatory threshold (VT), lactate threshold (LT), and maximal oxygen uptake (Vo2max) informs training strategies.
• On-ice testing provides a sport-specific measure of physiological responses during skating.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gender disparities in VT, LT, and Vo2max during on-ice skating among college hockey players.
• To determine if VT accurately predicts LT in male and female hockey players.
• To explore potential compensatory mechanisms for physiological differences in female hockey players.

Main Methods:

• A graded exercise skating protocol was administered to 10 male and 10 female NCAA Division III hockey players until volitional fatigue.
• The protocol involved 80-second exercise stages with 40-second rest periods for blood lactate sampling.
• Measurements included maximal heart rate (HRmax), Vo2max, VT, and LT, analyzed in relation to HRmax and Vo2max.

Main Results:

• Women exhibited a higher VT as a percentage of HRmax (77.3% vs. 72.6%, p < 0.02) and Vo2max (67.3% vs. 52.7%, p < 0.02) compared to men.
• Men demonstrated a significantly higher Vo2max (52.7 mL.kg.min vs. 40.1 mL.kg.min, p < 0.01) than women.
• LT was similar between genders when expressed as a percentage of HRmax or Vo2max, and both genders showed LT occurring at higher percentages than VT.

Conclusions:

• Ventilatory threshold (VT) is not a reliable predictor of lactate threshold (LT) in either male or female hockey players.
• Female hockey players possess a lower Vo2max but a higher VT than their male counterparts, suggesting VT may compensate for lower Vo2max.
• On-ice physiological testing is a practical method for tailoring aerobic training programs to the specific needs of hockey players.