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. 2019 Aug 21:68:123-133.
doi: 10.2478/hukin-2019-0061. eCollection 2019 Aug.

The Influence of the Menstrual Cycle on Muscle Strength and Power Performance

Blanca Romero-Moraleda  1 , Juan Del Coso  1 , Jorge Gutiérrez-Hellín  1 , Carlos Ruiz-Moreno  1 , Jozo Grgic  2 , Beatriz Lara  1
Affiliations

The Influence of the Menstrual Cycle on Muscle Strength and Power Performance

Blanca Romero-Moraleda et al. J Hum Kinet. .

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the fluctuations of muscle performance in the Smith machine half-squat exercise during three different phases of the menstrual cycle. Thirteen resistance-trained and eumenorrheic women volunteered to participate in the study (58.6 ± 7.8 kg, 31.1 ± 5.5 years). In a pre-experimental test, the half-squat one-repetition maximum (1RM) was measured. Body mass, tympanic temperature and urine concentration of the luteinizing hormone were estimated daily for ~30 days to determine the early follicular phase (EFP), the late follicular phase (LFP), and the mid-luteal phase (MLP) of the menstrual cycle. On the second day of each phase, performance of the Smith machine half-squats was assessed using 20, 40, 60 and 80% of one repetition maximum (1RM). In each load, force, velocity, and power output were measured during the concentric phase of the exercise by means of a rotatory encoder. The data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures ANOVA coupled with magnitude-based inferences. Overall, force, velocity and power output were very similar in all menstrual cycle phases with unclear differences in most of the pairwise comparisons and effect sizes >0.2. The results of this investigation suggest that eumenorrheic females have similar muscle strength and power performance in the Smith machine half-squat exercise during the EFP, LFP, and MLP phases of the menstrual cycle.

Keywords: half-squat exercise; periodization, velocity; resistance training; women.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of the testing protocol for a participant with a menstrual cycle of 28 days.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mean (upper panel) and peak force (lower panel) during the concentric phase of Smith machine half-squat exercise at increasing intensity (20, 40, 60 and 80% of 1RM) in each phase of the menstrual cycle. Each symbol is the mean ± standard deviation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mean (upper panel) and peak velocity (lower panel) of the barbell during the concentric phase of Smith machine half-squat exercise at increasing intensity (20, 40, 60 and 80% of 1RM) in each phase of the menstrual cycle. Each symbol is the mean ± standard deviation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean (upper panel) and peak power output (lower panel) during the concentric phase of Smith machine half-squat exercise at increasing intensity (20, 40, 60 and 80 of 1RM) in each phase of the menstrual cycle. Each symbol is the mean ± standard deviation.
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