Russ and Kent-Braun studied men and women performing intermittent submaximal muscle contractions of the dorsiflexor muscles of the ankle during both free flow blood conditions and ischemic conditions.
It has been shown that females typically rely less on carbohydrate and muscle glycogen stores and more on fat oxidation during endurance exercise, even with carbohydrate-loading diets. Men are more fatigable than strength-matched women when performing intermittent submaximal contractions.
While one is more casual, the other is intimate and personal. The purpose of this study was to quantify the sex differences in fatigue development and recovery rate of lower and upper body musculature after repeated bouts of sustained isometric contractions.
Numerous studies have shown women have a greater resistance to fatigue than men; therefore, women are able to sustain continuous and intermittent muscle contractions at low to moderate intensities longer than men Clark et al. Unrelated to fatigue, sex differences in EMG frequency measures have been difficult to determine [ 5 ].
Therefore, it is most likely that the increased absolute force generated by men causes a greater demand for muscle oxygen with more occlusion of blood flow due to increased compression of tissues [ 19 ].