NO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES IN THE NEURAL CONTROL OF EXPLOSIVE CONTRACTIONS

Abstract

Males and females exhibit comparable explosive relative to maximal strength. Given the greater proportion of type I fibres area in female muscles, motor units discharge rate (MUDR) in explosive efforts may be higher to compensate for slower contractile properties. To verify this, 22 females and 12 males (20-34 y), performed 10 rapid isometric ankle dorsiflexors, while recording high-density electromyography from tibialis anterior. Relative rate of torque development (RTD) measures (normalised to maximal torque) in the first 150 ms from contraction onset were not different (P \u3e 0.07) between sexes, nor MUDR at the beginning of the explosive efforts (61 ± 15 vs. 67 ± 16 Hz; P = 0.23). Time to peak RTD was shorter in males (61 ± 12 vs. 74 ± 14 ms; P \u3c 0.01). Thus, despite faster torque kinetics in males, the control of rapid torque production does not differ between sexes