The exercise sex gap and the impact of the estrous cycle on exercise performance in mice

Abstract

Abstract Exercise physiology is different in males and females. Females are poorly studied due to the complexity of the estrous cycle and this bias has created an exercise sex gap. Here, we evaluated the impact of sexual dimorphism and of the estrous cycle on muscle strength and running power of C57BL/6 mice. Like men, male mice were stronger and more powerful than females. Exercise-induced increase of O2 consumption ($$\dot{{\bf{V}}}$$ V̇ O2) and CO2 production ($$\dot{{\bf{V}}}$$ V̇ CO2) were equal between sexes, indicating that running economy was higher in males. Thermoregulation was also more efficient in males. In females, proestrus increased exercise $$\dot{{\bf{V}}}$$ V̇ O2 and $$\dot{{\bf{V}}}$$ V̇ CO2 at low running speeds (30–35% female $$\dot{{\bf{V}}}$$ V̇ O2max) and estrus worsened thermoregulation. These differences translated into different absolute and relative workloads on the treadmill, even at equal submaximal $$\dot{{\bf{V}}}$$ V̇ O2 and belt speeds. In summary, our results demonstrate the better muscle strength, running power and economy, and exercise-induced thermoregulation of males compared to females. Proestrus and estrus still undermined the running economy and exercise-induced thermoregulation of females, respectively. These results demonstrate an important exercise sex gap in mice.