Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 16, 2026
09:49
Endurance Training Protocol and Longitudinal Performance Assays for Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: March 26, 2012
16.1K
Sex differences in performance fatigability after a maximal intermittent fatiguing protocol with a flywheel device.
Jorge Salse-Batán1, Michel Marina1, Priscila Torrado1
1Research Group in Physical Activity and Health, Institut Nacional d'Educació Física de Catalunya, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)
|September 30, 2025
Summary
Males experience greater muscle fatigue after maximal intermittent exercise using flywheel devices, showing more impaired contractile function than females. Central fatigue, however, remained similar between sexes immediately after the protocol.
Area of Science:
- Neuromuscular Physiology
- Exercise Physiology
- Sex Differences in Exercise
Background:
- Sex-based differences in neuromuscular responses to fatiguing exercise are not fully understood.
- Flywheel devices (FD) offer a unique method for assessing maximal intermittent fatiguing protocols (IFPmax).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate sex influences on neuromuscular modulation following an IFPmax using an FD.
- To evaluate the recovery of force and electromyographic signals post-IFPmax.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-six young adults (20 females) performed 10 sets of 10 half-squats with an FD.
- Maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVC), femoral nerve stimulation (doublets, single twitches), voluntary activation (VA), and H-reflex were assessed pre- and post-exercise and after 10-min recovery.
- Electrically evoked forces and electromyographic responses (M-wave) were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Males exhibited higher pre-IFPmax MVC but a greater decline post-exercise compared to females.
- Males showed significantly larger reductions in peak twitch, 10 Hz doublet, and the 10:100 Hz doublet ratio.
- Peripheral fatigue, particularly in contractile mechanisms, was more pronounced in males, while central fatigue (VA, H-reflex) decrements were similar between sexes.
- Electrically evoked forces remained reduced at 10-min recovery in both sexes.
Conclusions:
- Maximal intermittent fatiguing protocols using flywheel devices induce significant peripheral fatigue, with males experiencing greater impairment in contractile function.
- Central neuromuscular adjustments to this fatiguing protocol are comparable between sexes.
- Further research is needed to tailor strength training strategies based on sex-specific fatigue responses.
