A cloth facemask increased ratings of perceived exertion and reduced affect, without affecting sprint or muscular performance

• Published in: Research in sports medicine 2023-09, Vol.31 (5), p.544-549
• Main Authors: Dantas, Matheus, Barboza-Neto, Rui, Guardieiro, Natália Mendes, Pinto, Ana Lúcia de Sá, Gualano, Bruno, Saunders, Bryan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1543-8627; 1543-8635
• DOI: 10.1080/15438627.2021.2010202

We determined the effects of wearing a cloth facemask on exercise performance and subjective responses during training of track and field athletes. Track and field athletes (n = 10, sprinters and long jumpers) performed two training sessions with and without a three-layered antiviral cloth facemask. The training session simulated the specific demands of the sport, consisting of five 30-m sprints, interspersed with passive 4-min intervals. Countermovement jump performance was assessed pre- and post-sprints, and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and affect were collected throughout. There was no evidence of condition*time interactions for sprint time (P = 0.21) or acceleration (P = 0.47). There was weak evidence of a condition effect on RPE (P = 0.05), though no condition*time interaction (P = 0.35). There was moderate evidence of a condition*time interaction for affect (P = 0.02), with lower ratings following sprints 3, 4 and 5 when using the mask. These findings suggest that wearing a mask may negatively impact subjective feelings of training without necessarily harming sprint performance.