Adaptation to damaging dance and repeated sprint activity in females

The repeated bout effect (RBE) refers to the prophylactic effect from damaging exercise following a single prior bout of exercise. There is a paucity of data examining the RBE in females, and investigations employing exercise paradigms beyond isolated eccentric contractions are scarce. In light of the limited literature, this investigation aimed to determine whether two different sport-specific exercise bouts would elicit a RBE in females. Twenty-one female dancers (19 ± 1 years) completed either a dance-specific protocol (n=10) or sport-specific repeated sprint protocol (n=11). Muscle soreness (DOMS), limb girths, creatine kinase (CK), countermovement jump height, reactive strength index, maximal voluntary contraction and 30 m sprint time were recorded pre, 0, 24, 48, and 72 h post-exercise. An identical exercise bout was conducted approximately four weeks following the initial bout, during which time the subjects maintained habitual training and dietary behaviours. DOMS and 30 m sprint time decreased following a second bout of both activities (P = 0.003; ηp = 0.38 and P = 0.008; ηp = 0.31 respectively). Circulating CK was also lower at 24, 48 and 72 h following the second bout, independent of group (P = 0.010; ηp = 0.23). Compared to the repeated sprint protocol, the magnitude of change in DOMS was greater following a subsequent bout of the dance protocol (P = 0.010; ηp = 0.19). These data are the first to demonstrate that dance and repeated sprint activity resulting in muscle damage in females confers a protective effect against muscle damage following a subsequent bout.