The Aerobic response to intense intermittent exercise
Date
1998
Authors
Tomlin, Dona Louise
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Abstract
This study examined the relationships between the aerobic response to intense intermittent exercise, the ability to resist fatigue over repeated bouts and VO2max. On the basis of cycle VO2max scores, 13 female recreational soccer players were assigned to either a low aerobic power group (LAP, n = 6, mean (SD) VO2max = 34.4 (2.4) mL-kg-l.min-1) or to a high aerobic power group (HAP, n = 7, V02max = 47.6 (3 .8) mL-kg-l.min-1) . Within 2 weeks of the VO2max test, subjects performed 10 6-s sprints on a cycle ergometer, loaded at .075 kp-kg-1 of body weight with 30-s of passive recovery between sprints. Following the sprints were 5 minutes of active recovery at 35% VO2max, then 10 minutes of passive recovery.
LAP and HAP subjects generated similar peak 6-s power (7.8 (1.2) vs 8.1 (0.8) W·kg·1, respectively, p =. 58) but HAP had a smaller decrement in power(% DO) over the 10 sprints (LAP vs HAP : 18.0 (7.6) vs 8.8 (3 .7) % DO, p =.02). The HAP group also consumed significantly more oxygen than LAP in 9 of the 10 sprint-recovery cycles (p <.05), averaging 25 .9 (4 .2) mL-kg-l.min-1 above pre-exercise levels versus 21.3 (1.7) mL-kg-l.min- 1 in the LAP (p =. 02). Modest relationships existed between the average increase in VO2 above pre-exercise values during the sprint, recovery or sprint recovery cycles and % DO (r = -.40 to -.52, p =.07 to .17) as well as between % DO and VO2max (r = -.65, p =. 02) with a stronger relationship seen between V02max and the aerobic response to the sprint-recovery series (r = .76 to .78, p =. 002). V02 was similar between groups for 14 of the 15 minutes of recovery (p =.45 to .90), with HAP consuming more oxygen than LAP during the first minute of passive recovery (p =.04).
Thus, the enhanced ability of the HAP group to resist fatigue during intense intermittent exercise may be related to both V02max and an increased aerobic contribution to sprint and recovery bouts.