Are Female Subjects Underrepresented in Research in Exercise Science?

In today’s episode, Greg and Eric revisit the topic of buffering supplements and fatigue as Eric presents a Research Review about the mechanisms driving neuromuscular fatigue. After that, Greg discusses his cover story from the most recent issue of the MASS Research Review, which is also available at strongerbyscience.com. In the article, Greg explores under-representation of female participants within strength, hypertrophy, and supplement research. The discussion covers the extent of the disparity, the surprising observation that the gap is getting worse over time, and how this research imbalance impacts training and nutrition recommendations for female lifters. Next, Eric shares a Coach’s Corner segment about programming high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and sprint interval training (SIT) for lifters. Finally, to close out the show, Eric and Greg share some music and video game recommendations.

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TIME STAMPS

Intro/Announcements (0:00)

Road to the Stage / Road to Athens (1:26)

Feats of Strength (6:53)

• Antonino Pizzolato

Research Review: Fatigue mechanisms (8:32)

• Lactic Acid and Exercise Performance
• Peripheral fatigue: new mechanistic insights from recent technologies
• Neural Contributions to Muscle Fatigue: From the Brain to the Muscle and Back Again
• Phosphate and acidosis act synergistically to depress peak power in rat muscle fibers

The major challenges (and low success rates) of mechanistic speculation (23:07)

SBS Article Discussion: Where are all the Female Participants in Strength, Hypertrophy, and Supplement Research? (29:32)

• Where Are All The Female Participants In Strength, Hypertrophy, And Supplement Research?
• Strength And Physique Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis Master List

Do findings from male participants typically generalize to female participants? (42:25)

Why more research with female participants is needed (53:27)

Coach’s Corner: HIIT programming (59:27)

• High-intensity interval training for health benefits and care of cardiac diseases - The key to an efficient exercise protocol
• Endurance Training Intensity Does Not Mediate Interference to Maximal Lower-Body Strength Gain during Short-Term Concurrent Training
• Central and peripheral fatigue following non-exhaustive and exhaustive exercise of disparate metabolic demands
• Exercise-induced muscle damage following a bout of sport specific repeated sprints

Clarification about sex disparities in research (1:16:12)

To Play Us Out: The Black Keys, Hill Country Blues, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus (1:24:52)

• Hill country blues

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• MASS Research Review: Subscribe to the MASS Research Review to get concise and applicable breakdowns of the latest strength, physique, and nutrition research – delivered monthly.