Effects of Age and Recovery Duration on Peak Power Output During Repeated Cycling Sprints

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of age and recovery duration on the time course of cycling peak power and blood lactate concentration ([La]) during repeated bouts of short-term high-intensity exercise. Eleven prepubescent boys (9.6 ± 0.7 yr), nine pubescent boys (15.0 ± 0.7 yr) and ten men (20.4 ± 0.8 yr) performed ten consecutive 10 s cycling sprints separated by either 30 s (R30), 1 min (R1), or 5 min (R5) passive recovery intervals against a friction load corresponding to 50 % of their optimal force (50 % Ffopt). Peak power produced at 50 % Ffopt (PP50) was calculated at each sprint including the flywheel inertia of the bicycle. Arterialized capillary blood samples were collected at rest and during the sprint exercises to measure the time course of [La]. In the prepubescent boys, whatever recovery intervals, PP50 remained unchanged during the ten 10 s sprint exercises. In the pubescent boys, PP50 decreased significantly by 18.5 % (p < 0.001) with R30 and by 15.3 % (p < 0.01) with R1 from the first to the tenth sprint but remained unchanged with R5. In the men, PP50 decreased respectively by 28.5 % (p < 0.001) and 11.3 % (p < 0.01) with R30 and R1 and slightly diminished with R5. For each recovery interval, the increase in blood [La] over the ten sprints was significantly lower in the prepubescent boys compared with the pubescent boys and the men. To conclude, the prepubescent boys sustained their PP50 during the ten 10 s sprint exercises with only 30 s recovery intervals. In contrast, the pubescent boys and the men needed 5 min recovery intervals. It was suggested that the faster recovery of PP50 in the prepubescent boys was due to their lower muscle glycolytic activity and their higher muscle oxidative capacity allowing a faster resynthesis in phosphocreatine.

Key words

Children - recovery - power output - intermittent exercise - blood lactate - fatigue

References

• 1 Arsac L M, Belli A, Lacour JR. Muscle function brief maximal exercise: accurate measurements on a friction-loaded cycle ergometer.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1996;  74 100-106
• 2 Bailey R C, Olson J, Pepper S L, Barstow T J, Cooper D M. The level and tempo of children's physical activity: an observational study.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1995;  27 1033-1041
• 3 Balsom P D, Seger J Y, Sjödin B, Ekblom B. Maximal intensity intermittent exercise: effect of recovery duration.  Int J Sports Med. 1992;  13 528-533
• 4 Bar-Or O. The young athlete.  J Sports Sci. 1995;  13 467-480
• 5 Berg A, Kim S S, Keul J. Skeletal muscle enzyme activities in healthy young subjects.  Int J Sports Med. 1986;  7 236-239
• 6 Bogdanis G C, Nevill M E, Boobis L H, Lakomy H KA, Nevill A M. Recovery of power output and muscle metabolites following 30 s of maximal sprint cycling in man.  J Physiol. 1995;  482 467-480
• 7 Bogdanis G C, Nevill M E, Boobis L H, Lakomy H KA. Contribution of phosphocreatine and aerobic metabolism to energy supply during repeated sprint exercise.  J Appl Physiol. 1996;  80 876-884
• 8 Doré E, Bedu M, França N M, Diallo O, Duché P, van Praagh E. Testing peak performance: effect of braking force during growth.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000;  32 493-498
• 9 Doré E, Diallo O, Francža N M, Bedu M, van Praagh E. Dimensional changes cannot account for all differences in short-term cycling power during growth.  Int J Sports Med. 2000;  21 360-365
• 10 Eriksson O, Saltin B. Muscle metabolism during exercise in boys aged 11 to 16 years compared to adults.  Acta Paediatr Belg. 1974;  28 257-265
• 11 Falgairette G, Bedu M, Fellmann N, van Praagh E, Coudert J. Bio-energetic profile in 144 boys aged from 6 to 15 years with special reference to sexual maturation.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1991;  62 151-156
• 12 Fouquet R, Belli A, Jay J, Dumas X, Denis C, Louis P, Bonnefoy R, Rougny R. Measurement and exploitation of the power done on a cycle ergometer.  Innov Tech Biol Med. 1993;  14 709-717
• 13 Gaitanos G C, Williams C, Boobis L H, Brooks S. Human muscle metabolism during intermittent maximal exercise.  J Appl Physiol. 1993;  75 712-719
• 14 Hamilton A L, Nevill M E, Brooks S, Williams C. Physiological responses to maximal intermittent exercise: Differences between endurance-trained runners and games players.  J Sports Sci. 1991;  9 371-382
• 15 Haralambie G. Enzyme activities in skeletal muscle of 13 - 15 year old adolescents.  Bull Eur Physiopath Respir. 1982;  18 65-74
• 16 Harris R C, Edwards R HT, Hultman E, Nordesjo L-O, Nylind B, Sahlin K. The time course of phosphorycreatine resynthesis during recovery of the quadriceps muscle in man.  Pfluegers Arch. 1976;  367 137-141
• 17 Hebestreit H, Mimura K, Bar-Or O. Recovery of muscle power after high-intensity short-term exercise: comparing boys and men.  J Appl Physiol. 1993;  74 2875-2880
• 18 Hebestreit H, Meyer F, Htay-Htay , Heigenhauser G J, Bar-Or O. Plasma metabolites, volume and electrolytes following 30 s high-intensity exercise in boys and men.  Eur J AppI Physiol. 1996;  72 563-569
• 19 Holmyard D J, Cheetham M E, Lakomy H KA, Williams C. Effect of recovery duration on performance during multiple treadmill sprints. In: Reilly T, Lees A, Davids K, Murphy WG (eds) Proceedings of the First World Congress on Science and Football. London; E & FN Spon 1988: 134-142
• 20 Kemp G J, Taylor D J, Radda G K. Control of phosphocreatine resynthesis during recovery from exercise in human skeletal muscle.  NMR Biomed. 1993;  6 66-72
• 21 Kuno S, Takahashi H, Fujimoto K, Akima H, Miyamaru M, Nemoto I, Itai Y, Katsuta S. Muscle metabolism during exercise using phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in adolescents.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1995;  70 301-304
• 22 Lakomy H KA. Measurement of work and power output using friction-loaded cycle ergometers.  Ergonomics. 1986;  29 509-517
• 23 Lavender G, Bird S R. Effect of sodium bicarbonate ingestion upon repeated sprints.  Br J Sports Med. 1989;  123 41-45
• 24 Linossier M T, Dormois D, Fouquet R, Geyssant A, Denis C. Use of the force-velocity test to determine the optimal braking force for a sprint exercise on a friction-loaded cycle ergometer.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1996;  74 420-427
• 25 Paterson D H, Cunningham D A, Burnstead L A. Recovery O2 and blood lactic acid: longitudinal analysis in boys aged 11 to 15 years.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1986;  55 93-99
• 26 Slaughter M E, Lohman T G, Boileau R A, Horswill C A, Stillman R J, van Loan M D, Bemben D A. Skinfold equations for estimation of body fatness in children and youth.  Hum Biol. 1988;  60 709-723
• 27 Soares J MC, Mota P, Duarte J A, Appell H J. Children are less susceptible to exercise-induced muscle damage than adults: a preliminary investigation.  Pediatr Exerc Sci. 1996;  8 361-367
• 28 Takahashi H, Inaki M, Fujimoto K, Katsuta S, Anno I, Niitsu M, Itai Y. Control of the rate of phosphocreatine resynthesis after exercise in trained and untrained human quadriceps muscles.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1995;  71 396-404
• 29 Tanner J H, Whitehouse R H. Clinical longitudinal standards for height, weight, height velocity, weight velocity and the stages of puberty.  Arch Dis Childhood. 1976;  51 170-179
• 30 Taylor D J, Kemp G J, Thompson C H, Radda G K. Aging: effects on oxidative function of skeletal muscle in vivo.  Mol Cell Biochem. 1997;  174 321-324
• 31 Walter G, Vandenborne K, McCully K K, Leigh J S. Noninvasive measurement of phosphocreatine, recovery kinetics in single human muscles.  Am J Physiol. 1997;  272 C525-C534
• 32 Williams J H, Williams S B, Signorile J F. A constant-load ergometer for measuring peak-power output and fatigue.</.  J Appl Physiol. 1988;  65 2343-2348
• 33 Wootton S A, Williams C. The influence of recovery duration on repeated maximal sprints. In: Knuttgen HG, Vogel JA, Poortmans J (eds) Biochemistry of Exercise. Champaign, IL; Human Kinetics 1983: 269-273
• 34 Yoshida T, Watari H. Metabolic consequences of repeated exercise in long distance runners.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 1993;  67 261-265