Verbal encouragement during strength and endurance assessments: The gender of the encourager can matter

Research supports using verbal encouragement (VE) to improve performance in strength and endurance exercises. However, there is still a gap in understanding how the gender of the coach or teacher affects the efficacy of VE. This study examines whether the teacher's gender influences performance in strength and endurance assessments among male and female student-athletes. In a crossover randomized controlled design, 16 male and 16 female student-athletes (mean age 20.9 ± 0.9 years) completed one-repetition maximum (1RM) tests in Squat, Deadlift, and Bench press, as well as 8-min time trials (8MTT), under normal conditions and with VE-first from a male teacher and then from a female teacher. A counterbalancing procedure over eight weeks controlled for confounding factors related to exposure order (without and with VE), test order (1RM and 8MTT), and time of day (morning and afternoon). Male student-athletes showed significant improvements nearly across all tests (p < 0.01 to p < 0.001) under VE from both male and female teachers, with no significant interaction "Condition × Teacher Gender" effect (p > 0.05). Female student-athletes also demonstrated significant improvements (p < 0.05 to p < 0.001), with an interaction effect favoring VE from the female teacher (p < 0.05 to p < 0.01) in all tests except the squat. In conclusion, female student-athletes demonstrated statistically significant performance improvements with female teacher VE. Male student-athletes also showed improvements, though not statistically significant, with female teacher VE. It is therefore recommended that stakeholders in athletic clubs and educational institutions take into account gender when assigning coaches/teachers to mixed-gender groups, particularly for strength and endurance training, in order to optimize the efficacy of VE. This research provides novel data supporting the increased representation of women in coaching and physical education, specifically in relation to VE efficacy.