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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FATIGUE AND ACUTE TESTOSTERONE RESPONSE FOLLOWING A FATIGUING JUMP PROTOCOL

Abstract

Matthew J. Hermes1, Mandy E. Parra1, Stephanie A. Sontag1, Trent J. Herda1, Andrew C. Fry1 1The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

Vertical jumping ability is often viewed as a favorable quality in athletic performance. Previous research has indicated significant relationships between basal testosterone levels and vertical jump or sprint performances for trained individuals. However, the relationship between the acute testosterone response and vertical jump fatigue following a fatiguing task remains unclear. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between the acute testosterone response and changes in peak power output over the course of a repeated jump protocol. METHODS: 9 recreationally trained males (X±SD; age = 22.8±3.4yrs, height = 182.3±5.7cm, mass = 89.1±12.0kg) volunteered for this study. Following anthropometric data collection and standardized warmup, subjects completed a repeated jump protocol on a force platform consisting of 10 sets of maximal repeated jumps. Each set lasted 15 seconds, with 15 seconds of rest between sets. Subjects were instructed to reach 90º knee flexion, to jump maximally for each jump, and to perform as many jumps as they could per set. Peak power of the second and second to last jumps of the first and last sets were analyzed. Blood samples were taken prior to and 5 minutes after the completion of the jump protocol to determine testosterone values. Pearson product-moment correlations were used to assess the relationship between jump fatigue and changes in testosterone (p<.05). RESULTS: No significant relationships were found between absolute changes in testosterone and changes in peak power within the first set (p=0.37, r=0.34), within the last set (p=0.29, r=0.40), or between the first and last sets (p=0.18, r=0.49). In addition, relative changes between changes in testosterone and changes in peak power within the first set (p=0.48, r=0.27), within the last set (p=0.40, r=0.32), and between first and last sets (p=0.26, r=0.42) yielded no significant relationships. CONCLUSION: Although previous research has indicated a relationship between basal testosterone and vertical jump performance in elite athletes, there does not appear to be a relationship between the acute testosterone response and power fatigue in recreationally trained males. However, further research is needed in order to fully assess how testosterone is affected by fatigue.

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