Purpose: To investigate the effect of the menstrual cycle (MC) on exercise performance across the power-duration relationship (PDR). We hypothesized females would exhibit greater variability in the PDR across the MC than males across a similar timespan, with critical power (CP) and Work-prime (W') being lower during the early follicular phase than the late follicular and mid-luteal phases. Methods: Seven eumenorrheic, endurance-trained female adults performed multiple constant-load-to-task-failure and maximum-power tests at three time points across the MC (early follicular, late follicular, mid-luteal phases). Ten endurance-trained male adults performed the same tests approximately 10 days apart. Results: No differences across the PDR were observed between MC phases (CP: 186.74 ± 31.00 W, P = 0.955, CV = 0.81 ± 0.65 %) (W': 7,961.81 ± 2,537.68 J, P = 0.476, CV = 10.48 ± 3.06 %). CP was similar for male and female subjects (11.82 ± 1.42 W • kg−1 vs. 11.56 ± 1.51 W • kg−1, respectively) when controlling for leg lean mass. However, W' was larger (P = 0.047) for male subjects (617.28 ± 130.10 J • kg−1) than female subjects (490.03 ± 136.70 J • kg−1) when controlling for leg lean mass. Conclusion: MC phase does not need to be controlled when conducting aerobic endurance performance research on eumenorrheic female subjects without menstrual dysfunction. Nevertheless, several sex differences in the power-duration relationship exist, even after normalizing for body composition. Therefore, previous studies describing the physiology of exercise performance in male subjects may not perfectly describe that of female subjects.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.