Physical Working Capacity at Pain Intensity Threshold in Females

Abstract Sterner, DA, Stout, JR, Antonio, BB, Anderson, AW, Hill, EC, and Fukuda, DH. Physical working capacity at pain intensity threshold in females. J Strength Cond Res 39(5): e628–e633, 2025—This study aimed to establish a new threshold parameter in women called the physical working capacity at pain intensity threshold (PWCPIT) similar to that in males. The objectives were to (a) assess if the PIT scale can be used to estimate PWCPIT in females and (b) evaluate relationships between PWCPIT and other established thresholds: PWC at maximal oxygen consumption (PWCV˙O2), PWC at heart rate threshold (PWCHRT), and gas exchange threshold (GET). Eleven female volunteers (age: 21.1 ± 2.7 years, height: 165.3 ± 6.8 cm, body mass: 66.1 ± 13.4 kg, V˙ o2 peak: 27.38 ± 5.2 ml·kg−1·min−2) participated in the study. Subjects completed a graded exercise test to exhaustion, followed by four 8-minute randomly ordered work bouts on separate days at 70–100% peak power output (56–200 W) to establish their PWCPIT, PWCHRT, and PWCV˙O2. One-way repeated-measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc tests and a zero-order correlation matrix were used to analyze these thresholds. No significant differences were found among the estimated power outputs for GET (69 ± 20 W), PWCPIT (80 ± 36 W), PWCHRT (84 ± 24 W), and PWCV˙O2 (88 ± 30 W). Physical working capacity at PIT significantly correlated with PWCHRT (r = 0.905, p < 0.001) and PWCV˙O2 (r = 0.947, p < 0.001), but not with GET (r = 0.539, p = 0.087). The significant correlations between PWCPIT and other established thresholds (PWCHRT and PWCV˙O2) in females suggest that PWCPIT may provide valuable insights into endurance performance. Further research examining how PWCPIT aligns with, differs from, or complements existing PWC threshold measures may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors governing endurance performance in females.