During high intensity exercise, an individual’s ability to generate and maintain force is
decreased resulting in a decline in muscle performance. This decrease in force is referred
to as neuromuscular fatigue (NMF). There have been several studies examining NMF
during maximal leg cycling sprints. Maximal repeated leg cycling sprints have been shown
to induce peripheral fatigue early and this fatigue persists throughout the sprints, while
central fatigue occurs towards the end of the sprints. To date, only one study has examined
the effects of maximal arm cycling sprints on NMF and similar patterns of peripheral and
central fatigue have been reported. Many studies have shown that the specific task being
performed can alter NMF. For example, the development of NMF has been shown to be
different during maximal running and leg cycling exercises at the same workload. This
suggests that NMF appears to develop differently depending on the specific action of the
muscles involved. Although not examining NMF, two studies have examined the effect of
forearm position during constant load arm cycling. These studies found that forearm
position can influence muscular activity and brain and spinal cord excitability during
constant load arm cycling. Despite the present research, it is currently unknown if the
development of NMF is different following arm cycling sprints in different forearm
positions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the development of NMF
during repeated arm cycling sprints in pronated and supinated forearm positions. This study
add to the current understanding of how NMF influences exercise performance, and may
aid in the development of training protocols for rehabilitative and athletic purposes
