| Previous studies have reported women to have a greater resistance
to fatigue than men during sustained handgrip exercise, however, observed
gender differences in fatigue has been shown to be a function of contraction
type. The purpose of the present study was to determine if gender
differences exist in forearm muscle fatigue during intermittent handgrip
contractions. Women [n = 11, 23.5 ± 1.5 (SE) yr] and men (n = 11,
24.1 ± 1.5 yr) performed intermittent isometric handgrip contractions
at a target force of 50% of maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) for
5 s followed by 5 s rest until task failure. Rate of fatigue was calculated
from MVCs taken every 2 min during exercise, and recovery of muscle
strength was measured in 5 min increments until 45 min post-task failure.
Forearm muscle strength was less for women than men (W: 341.5 ± 11.9
N; M: 480.2 ± 28.0 N; p < 0.05). No gender difference was present
in time to task failure (W: 793.3 ± 92.5 s; M: 684.8 ± 76.3 s) or
in the decrease in muscle force generating capacity at task failure
(W: -47.6 ± 1.0%; M: -49.9 ± 1.3%). Rate of muscle fatigue was found
to be similar between women and men (W: -3.6 ± 0.5 %·min-1;
M: -4.3 ± 0.6 %·min-1) and no gender difference was found
in the recovery of muscle strength following task failure. In summary,
no gender difference was found in the fatigability of the forearm
muscles during intermittent submaximal handgrip contractions, independent
of muscle strength.
KEY
WORDS: Muscle fatigue, gender differences, handgrip.
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