The effect of muscularity on thermal responses, muscle performance, and dexterity during whole body exposure to 10 °C

Abstract 1. The study evaluated the effects of exposure to cold air (10 °C) on thermal responses, muscle performance and dexterity of muscular subjects and their matched lean counterparts. 2. No differences in rectal and skin temperatures or in the rate of cooling were observed between the groups. In muscularity group (MG), maximal wrist flexion force was higher but ball velocity during throwing and jump height tended to be lower. Dexterity did not differ between the groups. The average decrease in performance (including all tests) in MG was 12.3±5.1% and in lean group it was 9.3±4.1%. 3. It is concluded that muscularity does not protect against cooling nor does it maintain muscle performance capacity or dexterity as compared to matched lean counterparts.