Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the menstrual cycle on vertical jumping, sprint performance and force-velocity profiling in resistance-trained women. A group of resistance-trained eumenorrheic women (n = 9) were tested in three phases over the menstrual cycle: bleeding phase, follicular phase, and luteal phase (i.e., days 1–3, 7–10, and 19–21 of the cycle, respectively). Each testing phase consisted of a battery of jumping tests (i.e., squat jump [SJ], countermovement jump [CMJ], drop jump from a 30 cm box [DJ30], and the reactive strength index) and 30 m sprint running test. Two different applications for smartphone (My Jump 2 and My Sprint) were used to record the jumping and sprinting trials, respectively, at high speed (240 fps). The repeated measures ANOVA reported no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05, ES < 0.25) in CMJ, DJ30, reactive strength index and sprint times between the different phases of the menstrual cycle. A greater SJ height performance was observed during the follicular phase compared to the bleeding phase (p = 0.033, ES = −0.22). No differences (p ≥ 0.05, ES < 0.45) were found in the CMJ and sprint force-velocity profile over the different phases of the menstrual cycle. Vertical jump, sprint performance and the force-velocity profiling remain constant in trained women, regardless of the phase of the menstrual cycle.
Highlights
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the menstrual cycle (MC) on vertical jump, sprint performance and F-v profiling in resistance-trained women
The repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) reported no significant differences between phases in counter movement jump (CMJ), drop jump from a 30 cm box (DJ30), reactive strength index (RSI) nor sprint performance
Differences (p = 0.033, effect size (ES) = −0.22) were found in squat jump (SJ), with the post-hoc test revealing a greater performance during the follicular phase compared to the bleeding phase
Summary
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).Lower-limb ballistic movements, or stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) muscle actions, have been identified as key determinants of physical performance in women [1], and jumping and sprinting tests are widely used to assess the mechanical capabilities of the lower-limbs and the efficiency of the SSC [1,2]. The individual force-velocity (F-v) relationship has been proposed as a valid marker of the athlete’s mechanical profile [3], providing more useful information for training prescription and monitoring training adaptations than isolated jumping or sprinting tests [4]. Moreover, with the constant advances inInt. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 4830. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18094830 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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