The effect of an acute bout of cardiovascular exercise on strength in female athletes

Abstract

Purpose of this study was to determine whether a bout of cardiovascular exercise would affect a trained female athlete’s strength. Women varsity basketball players from SUNY Cortland (n = 9, age 19.56 ±1.33 years) volunteered for this study. The subjects completed a high intensity interval cardiovascular workout on a treadmill followed by strength testing. The strength tests included flat bench press and leg press performed at four hours and 16 hours after completing the bout of cardiovascular exercise, respectively. The results concluded that four hours after the cardiovascular workout, there was significant decrease in the athlete’s leg press strength (F(1.182, 12.999) = 50.05, p < .05, partial [nu]2 = .820). This decrement was only seen in the third set. By 16 hours post-cardiovascular exercise, the decrement had returned to normal. It was concluded that high intensity cardiovascular exercise can negatively affect a trained athlete’s strength when performed concurrently with strength training.