Diurnal variation in repeated sprint performance cannot be offset when rectal and muscle temperatures are at optimal levels (38.5°C)

Morning-evening differences of short-term maximal performance and psychological variables in female athletes

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of time of day on short-term maximal performance and psychological variables in young females. Fifteen active women participated in the study (age: 22 ± 3 years) and completed Hooper and the POMS-F questionnaires subsequently. In a randomized order, they performed a maximum of 30 s cycling exercise at two different times of day: in the morning at 07:00 h and in the afternoon at 16:00 h with a recovery period of 48 h. The digit cancellation test, countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ) test, and the lower quarter Y balance test were performed at the beginning and at the end of each session. Our results showed that only peak power and mean power (p < 0.01) during the maximum 30 s cycling, reaching distances during the Y-balance (p < 0.05), Jump height in CMJ and SJ (p < 0.01) as well as attention, vigor, and stress scores (all p < 0.01) were higher in the afternoon than in the morning. Our results indicated a daily diurnal variation in short-term maximal performance and mood states in young athletic women with better performance observed during the afternoon.

Active warm-up and time-of-day effects on repeated-sprint performance and post-exercise recovery

PURPOSE

This study investigated the effects of both an active warm-up and the time-of-day variation on repeated-sprint performance. A second objective was to compare the post-exercise recovery between the experimental conditions.

METHODS

Eleven male participants performed ten maximal cycling sprints (6 s each, with a 30-s interval between them) in the morning and late afternoon, either after a warm-up or control condition. The warm-up consisted of cycling for 10 min at 50% of the peak aerobic power.

RESULTS

Rest measurements of rectal, muscle, and skin temperatures were higher in the afternoon compared to the morning (p < 0.05), with no significant differences in heart rate (p = 0.079) and blood lactate concentration (p = 0.300). Warm-up increased muscle temperature, heart rate, and lactate, and reduced skin temperature (all p < 0.001), though no significant differences were observed for rectal temperature (p = 0.410). The number of revolutions (p = 0.034, η_p² = 0.375), peak (p = 0.034, η_p² = 0.375), and mean (p = 0.037, η_p² = 0.365) power of the first sprint (not the average of ten sprints) were higher in the afternoon compared to the morning, regardless of warm-up. However, beneficial performance effects of warming up were evident for the first (p < 0.001) and the average of ten sprints (p < 0.05), regardless of time of day. More remarkable changes during the 60-min post-exercise were observed for rectal temperature (p = 0.005) and heart rate (p = 0.010) in the afternoon than in the morning.

CONCLUSION

Warming-up and time-of-day effects in enhancing muscular power are independent. Although warm-up ensured further beneficial effects on performance than the time-of-day variation, a faster post-exercise recovery was observed in the late afternoon.

Daily variation in time-trial sporting performance: A systematic review

Few functional measures related to time-trial display diurnal variation. The diversity of tests/protocols used to assess time-trial performance on diurnal effects and the lack of a standardised approach hinder agreement in the literature. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to investigate and systematically review the evidence relating to time-of-day differences in time-trial measures and to examine the main aspects related to research design important for studies of a chronobiological nature. The entire content of Manipal Academy of Higher Education electronic library and Qatar National Library, and electronic databases: PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus and Web of Science were searched. Research studies published in peer-reviewed journals and non-peer reviewed studies, conducted in male adult participants aged ≥18 y before November 2021 were screened/included. Studies assessing tests related to time-trials in any modality between a minimum of 2 time-points during the day (morning [06:30-10:30 h] vs evening [14:30-20:00 h]) were deemed eligible. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) process was used to assess the evidence to inform recommendations. The primary search revealed that a total of 10 from 40 articles were considered eligible and subsequently included. Six were conducted using cycling, two using running and two using swimming as the mode of exercise. Distances ranged from 1 to 16.1-km in distance or 15 to 20-min time in the cycling and running time-trials, and 50 to 200-m in the swimming time-trials. Only four studies found one or several of their performance variables to display daily variations, with significantly better values in the evening; while six studies found no time-of-day significance in any variables assessed. The magnitude of difference ranged from 2.9% to 7.1% for performance time to complete a cycling time-trial, while running and swimming did not find any differences for performance time. Power output during a 16.1-km time trial in cycling also found evening performance to be significantly better by 10%. The only other observed differences were stroke rate and stroke length during a swimming time-trial and stroke rate (cycles.min^-1) during a cycling time-trial. The magnitude of difference is dependent on exercise modality, individual chronotype, the training status of the individual and sample size differences. The lack of diurnal variation present in the majority of studies can in-part be explained with some of the methodological limitations and issues present related to quality and control. It is paramount that research assessing diurnal variation in performance uses appropriate session timings around the core body temperature minimum (~05:00 h; morning) and maximum (~17:00 h; evening). Although, differences in motivation/arousal, habitual training times, chronotypes and genotypes could provide an explanation as to why some studies/variables did not display time-of-day variation, more work is needed to provide an accurate conclusion. There is a clear demand for a rigorous, standardised approach to be adopted by future investigations which control factors that specifically relate to investigations of time-of-day, such as appropriate familiarisation, counterbalancing the order of administration of tests, providing sufficient recovery time between sessions and testing within a controlled environment.

Diurnal Variation: Does it Affect Short-term Maximal Performance and Biological Parameters in Police Officers?

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the diurnal variation of short term maximal performance and biological markers of hormonal [cortisol (CRT), testosterone (TST), melatonin (MLT)], biochemical [creatine phosphokinase (CPK), blood glucose (GLC), uric acid (UA)] and hematological [white blood cells (WBC), monocytes (MO), neutrophils (NE), lymphocytes (LY), red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (HB), hematocrit (HMT)] parameters in male police officers. Methods: Twenty male police officers performed a running-based anaerobic sprint test (RAST) at two different times of the day (TOD), in the morning (6:00 h - 7:00 h) and evening (19:00 - 20:00) where blood samples were collected from the participants on these two occasions before each exercise session. Results: Short term maximal performance [Peak power (PP), average power (AP) and minimal power (MP)] was higher in the evening as compared to the morning. It was noted that biological markers of hormonal, biochemical and hematological parameters exhibit diurnal fluctuation. Some of them peak in the morning (MLT, CRT, TST, UA, RBC, HB, and HMT) and others peak in the evening (GLC, CPK, WBC, NE, LY, and MO). Conclusions: Short term maximal performance, hormonal, biochemical and hematological parameters were strongly affected by the TOD in police officers. Thus, understanding changes in short term maximal exercice and these circulating mediators during different TOD provide a better understanding of the anaerobic metabolism and could help modulate and quantify training load.

The effect of diurnal variation on the performance of exhaustive continuous and alternated-intensity cycling exercises

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of time of day (TD) on two types of exercise protocols [continuous (CP) versus alternated (AP)]. Eleven physical education students (mean ± SD: age = 24.4 ± 1.2 years, aerobic peak power (APP) = 290 ± 31.9 W) underwent four sessions. These sessions were performed at 08:00 (AM) and 18:00 (PM) and consisted of cycling exercises until voluntary exhaustion at 90% APP (CP) or 70%-105% APP (AP) with the order of testing randomly assigned. Time to exhaustion (time limit = Tlim) was measured from the start of the test to when voluntary exhaustion occurred. Heart rate (HR) was recorded at baseline (HRbaseline) and throughout the protocols to determine HR at exhaustion (HRpeak). Blood lactate ([La]) was measured at rest, immediately after exhaustion and at 2min30 post-exercise to determine [La]peak. A significantly higher means of Tlim (334 ± 57 s; 272 ± 59 s; p< 0.05), HRbaseline (72 ± 5 beats/min; 67 ± 5 beats/min; p< 0.01), HRpeak (186 ± 8 beats/min; 178 ± 9 beats/min; p< 0.01) and [La]peak (16.2 ± 2.1 mmol/l; 13.9 ± 1.9 mmol/l; p< 0.05) were observed in CP at the PM compared to the AM. In addition, a significant higher means of Tlim (380 ± 54 s; 312 ± 82 s; p< 0.05), HRbaseline (73.1 ± 5.5 beats/min; 67 ± 5.4 beats/min; p< 0.01), HRpeak (186 ± 8 beats/min; 180 ± 9 beats/min; p< 0.05) and [La]peak (17.9 ± 1.8 mmol/l; 14.7 ± 2.1 mmol/l; p< 0.01) were observed in AP at the PM compared to the AM. It is concluded that AP and CP are more appropriate in the late afternoon than in the morning for performing long-lasting exercises. The AP could be a novel strategy for increasing the engagement in physical activity.

Time-of-Day Effects on Short-Duration Maximal Exercise Performance

Time-of-day dependent fluctuations in exercise performance have been documented across different sports and seem to affect both endurance and resistance modes of exercise. Most of the studies published to date have shown that the performance in short-duration maximal exercises (i.e. less than 1 min - e.g. sprints, jumps, isometric contractions) exhibits diurnal fluctuations, peaking between 16:00 and 20:00 h. However, the time-of-day effects on short duration exercise performance may be minimized by the following factors: (1) short exposures to moderately warm and humid environments; (2) active warm-up protocols; (3) intermittent fasting conditions; (4) warming-up while listening to music; or (5) prolonged periods of training at a specific time of day. This suggests that short-duration maximal exercise performance throughout the day is controlled not only by body temperature, hormone levels, motivation and mood state but also by a versatile circadian system within skeletal muscle. The time of day at which short-duration maximal exercise is conducted represents an important variable for training prescription. However, the literature available to date lacks a specific review on this subject. Therefore, the present review aims to (1) elucidate time-of-day specific effects on short-duration maximal exercise performance and (2) discuss strategies to promote better performance in short-duration maximal exercises at different times of the day.

Effects of an active warm-up on variation in bench press and back squat (upper and lower body measures)

The present study investigated the magnitude of diurnal variation in back squat and bench press using the MuscleLab linear encoder over three different loads and assessed the benefit of an active warm-up to establish whether diurnal variation could be negated. Ten resistance-trained males underwent (mean ± SD: age 21.0 ± 1.3 years, height 1.77 ± 0.06 m, and body mass 82.8 ± 14.9 kg) three sessions. These included control morning (M, 07:30 h) and evening (E, 17:30 h) sessions (5-min standardized warm-up at 150 W, on a cycle ergometer), and one further session consisting of an extended active warm-up morning trial (M_E, 07:30 h) until rectal temperature (T_rec) reached previously recorded resting evening levels (at 150 W, on a cycle ergometer). All sessions included handgrip, followed by a defined program of bench press (at 20, 40, and 60 kg) and back squat (at 30, 50, and 70 kg) exercises. A linear encoder was attached to an Olympic bar used for the exercises and average force (AF), peak velocity (PV), and time to peak velocity (tPV) were measured (MuscleLab software; MuscleLab Technology, Langesund, Norway) during the concentric phase of the movements. Values for T_rec were higher in the E session compared to values in the M session (Δ0.53 °C, P < 0.0005). Following the extended active warm-up in the morning (M_E), T_rec and T_m values were no different to the E values (P < 0.05). Values for T_m were lower in the M compared to the E condition throughout (P < 0.05). There were time-of-day effects for hand grip with higher values of 6.49% for left (P = 0.05) and 4.61% for right hand (P = 0.002) in the E compared to the M. Daily variations were apparent for both bench press and back squat performance for AF (3.28% and 2.63%), PV (13.64% and 11.50%), and tPV (-16.97% and -14.12%, where a negative number indicates a decrease in the variable from morning to evening). There was a main effect for load (P < 0.0005) such that AF and PV values were larger at higher masses on the bar than lower ones and tPV was smaller at lower masses on the bar than at higher masses for both bench press and back squat. We established that increasing T_rec in the M-E values did not result in an increase of any measures related to bench press and back squat performance (P > 0.05) to increase from M to E levels. Therefore, MuscleLab linear encoder could detect meaningful differences between the morning and evening for all variables. However, the diurnal variation in bench press and back squat (measures of lower and upper body force and power output) is not explained by time-of-day oscillations in T_rec.

Diurnal Variation of Short-Term Repetitive Maximal Performance and Psychological Variables in Elite Judo Athletes

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of time of day on short-term repetitive maximal performance and psychological variables in elite judo athletes. Methods: Fourteen Tunisian elite male judokas (age: 21 ± 1 years, height:172 ± 7 cm, body-mass: 70.0 ± 8.1 kg) performed a repeated shuttle sprint and jump ability (RSSJA) test (6 m × 2 m × 12.5 m every 25-s incorporating one countermovement jump (CMJ) between sprints) in the morning (7:00 a.m.) and afternoon (5:00 p.m.). Psychological variables (Profile of mood states (POMS-f) and Hooper questionnaires) were assessed before and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) immediately after the RSSJA. Results: Sprint times (p > 0.05) of the six repetition, fatigue index of sprints (p > 0.05) as well as mean (p > 0.05) jump height and fatigue index (p > 0.05) of CMJ did not differ between morning and afternoon. No differences were observed between the two times-of-day for anxiety, anger, confusion, depression, fatigue, interpersonal relationship, sleep, and muscle soreness (p > 0.05). Jump height in CMJ 3 and 4 (p < 0.05) and RPE (p < 0.05) and vigor (p < 0.01) scores were higher in the afternoon compared to the morning. Stress was higher in the morning compared to the afternoon (p < 0.01). Conclusion: In contrast to previous research, repeated sprint running performance and mood states of the tested elite athletes showed no-strong dependency of time-of-day of testing. A possible explanation can be the habituation of the judo athletes to work out early in the morning.