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PERFORMANCE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO PARTNERED EXERCISE IN FEMALES

Abstract

D.Klassen, K.Mills, S.Eliason, K.Csicsery, A. Popich, & D. McCann.

Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA

PURPOSE: Numerous studies have indicated that partnered exercise can improve performance, but few have investigated the effects of partnered exercise on physiological variables. The purpose of the current study was to compare physiological responses and performance changes during individual and partnered anaerobic exercise in females. METHODS: Thirteen untrained female Gonzaga University students (age: 20.17 ± 1.1 yr, stature: 164.3 ± 6.94 cm, mass: 63.2 ± 10.4 kg, FFM: 40.3 ± 7.2 kg), participated in two testing sessions, one week apart. In each session, subjects performed prone planks, wallsits, and push-ups to exhaustion, either individually or with a male partner. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and blood lactate concentration [BLac] were measured immediately before and after the testing protocol of all three exercises. Plank and wallsit times, and push-up repetitions to fatigue were recorded to quantify the performance. RESULTS: Group mean plank time and push-up repetitions were significantly greater (p< 0.05) in the partnered condition by 17.3 % and 18.7 %, respectively. Post-test [BLac] was also significantly greater for partnered versus non-partnered testing (2.91±1.50 vs 3.49±1.51 mmol/L, respectively; p< 0.05). Subsequent analysis revealed that one subgroup of subjects experienced both physiological and performance responses (n=4), while another subgroup (n=5) only experienced a performance response. Based on performance rankings, physiological and performance responders tended to be the most fit, while performance only responders were the least fit. CONCLUSION: The ability of partnering to dramatically increase performance without stimulating parallel increases in physiological responses to maximal exercise could not be explained, but appears to be related to training status. This suggests additional research should be performed to better understand the physiological responses to maximal partnered and non-partnered exercise in both trained and untrained subjects.

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