Exploratory Associations Between Handgrip Strength, Fatigue State, and Cycling Performance in Trained Cyclists.
- 1Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università Degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy.
- 2Department of Endocrinology, Nutrition and Metabolic Diseases, IRCCS MultiMedica, 20138 Milan, Italy.
- 3TotalEneergies Pro Cycling Team, 85140 Essarts-en-Bocage, France.
Abstract
Practical readiness monitoring requires rapid, low-cost, and accessible measures. This exploratory repeated-measures study investigated whether the handgrip strength test (HGS) reflects short-term changes in fatigue and readiness in trained cyclists. Twenty-two trained male cyclists completed laboratory testing after rest, easy training, high-intensity training, and long-duration exercise. HGS at 90° and 180° elbow flexion, Hooper Index (HI), heart rate variability (HRV), physiological responses, blood lactate kinetics, power decrement, and cycling performance were assessed. Cycling performance and exercise heart-rate responses differed across conditions (p < 0.05). HGS₉₀ also differed across conditions (p = 0.030), whereas HGS₁₈₀ did not (p = 0.133). Higher HGS was associated with greater short-duration cycling power, particularly the 30 s performance, even after adjustment for body mass. However, within/between-athlete mixed models showed that these relationships primarily reflected stable differences between athletes: day-to-day HGS fluctuations were not associated with corresponding changes in performance, peak blood lactate, HRV, lactate clearance, or power decrement. Furthermore, HGS did not provide significant incremental information beyond condition, body mass, HI, and HRV. HGS may therefore complement assessments of cyclists' power profiles, but the present findings do not support its use as an independent marker of acute readiness.
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BibTeX
@article{gotti2026exploratory,
title = {{Exploratory Associations Between Handgrip Strength, Fatigue State, and Cycling Performance in Trained Cyclists.}},
author = {Daniel Gotti and Roberto Codella and Matteo Moraschini and Andrea Meloni and Antonio La Torre and Luca Filipas},
journal = {Sports (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/sports14100423},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931560},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Exploratory Associations Between Handgrip Strength, Fatigue State, and Cycling Performance in Trained Cyclists.
AU - Daniel Gotti
AU - Roberto Codella
AU - Matteo Moraschini
AU - Andrea Meloni
AU - Antonio La Torre
AU - Luca Filipas
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Sports (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/sports14100423
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42931560
AB - Practical readiness monitoring requires rapid, low-cost, and accessible measures. This exploratory repeated-measures study investigated whether the handgrip strength test (HGS) reflects short-term changes in fatigue and readiness in trained cyclists. Twenty-two trained male cyclists completed laboratory testing after rest, easy training, high-intensity training, and long-duration exercise. HGS at 90° and 180° elbow flexion, Hooper Index (HI), heart rate variability (HRV), physiological responses, blood lactate kinetics, power decrement, and cycling performance were assessed. Cycling performance and exercise heart-rate responses differed across conditions (p < 0.05). HGS₉₀ also differed across conditions (p = 0.030), whereas HGS₁₈₀ did not (p = 0.133). Higher HGS was associated with greater short-duration cycling power, particularly the 30 s performance, even after adjustment for body mass. However, within/between-athlete mixed models showed that these relationships primarily reflected stable differences between athletes: day-to-day HGS fluctuations were not associated with corresponding changes in performance, peak blood lactate, HRV, lactate clearance, or power decrement. Furthermore, HGS did not provide significant incremental information beyond condition, body mass, HI, and HRV. HGS may therefore complement assessments of cyclists' power profiles, but the present findings do not support its use as an independent marker of acute readiness.
SN - 2075-4663
ER -