Background The ‘verification phase’ has emerged as a supplementary procedure to traditional maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) criteria to confirm that the highest possible VO2 has been attained during a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). Objective To compare the highest VO2 responses observed in different verification phase procedures with their preceding CPET for confirmation that VO2max was likely attained. Methods MEDLINE (accessed through PubMed), Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and Cochrane (accessed through Wiley) were searched for relevant studies that involved apparently healthy adults, VO2max determination by indirect calorimetry, and a CPET on a cycle ergometer or treadmill that incorporated an appended verification phase. RevMan 5.3 software was used to analyze the pooled effect of the CPET and verification phase on the highest mean VO2. Meta-analysis effect size calculations incorporated random-effects assumptions due to the diversity of experimental protocols employed. I2 was calculated to determine the heterogeneity of VO2 responses, and a funnel plot was used to check the risk of bias, within the mean VO2 responses from the primary studies. Subgroup analyses were used to test the moderator effects of sex, cardiorespiratory fitness, exercise modality, CPET protocol, and verification phase protocol. Results Eighty studies were included in the systematic review (total sample of 1,680 participants; 473 women; age 19–68 yr.; VO2max 3.3 ± 1.4 L/min or 46.9 ± 12.1 mL·kg-1·min-1). The highest mean VO2 values attained in the CPET and verification phase were similar in the 54 studies that were meta-analyzed (mean difference = 0.03 [95% CI = -0.01 to 0.06] L/min, P = 0.15). Furthermore, the difference between the CPET and verification phase was not affected by any of the potential moderators such as verification phase intensity (P = 0.11), type of recovery utilized (P = 0.36), VO2max verification criterion adoption (P = 0.29), same or alternate day verification procedure (P = 0.21), verification-phase duration (P = 0.35), or even according to sex, cardiorespiratory fitness level, exercise modality, and CPET protocol (P = 0.18 to P = 0.71). The funnel plot indicated that there was no significant publication bias. Conclusions The verification phase seems a robust procedure to confirm that the highest possible VO2 has been attained during a ramp or continuous step-incremented CPET. However, given the high concordance between the highest mean VO2 achieved in the CPET and verification phase, findings from the current study would question its necessity in all testing circumstances. PROSPERO Registration ID CRD42019123540.

No abstract

The present study investigated differences in postexercise hypotension (PEH) after continuous versus accumulated isocaloric bouts of cycling. Ten pre-hypertensive men, aged 23 to 34 yrs, performed two bouts of cycling at 75% oxygen uptake reserve, with total energy expenditures of 400 kcal per bout. One

No abstract

The extent to which post-exercise cardiac autonomic control depends on exercise modality remains unclear, particularly among individuals with autonomic dysfunction (CAdysf). This study compared heart rate variability (HRV) and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) responses to acute aerobic (AE) and strength exercise (SE) in men with CAdysf. Twenty men were assigned into control (n=10: 33.8±3.0 yr; 23.7±1.5 kg/m) and CAdysf (n=10: 36.2±9.8 yr; 28.4±2.6 kg/m) groups. CAdysf underwent AE, SE, and a non-exercise control day (CTL) in a randomized, counter-balanced order. HRV and BRS were assessed in a supine position during 25-min of recovery after AE, SE, and CTL. Both HRV indices [P < 0.05; Effect size (Cohen's d): > 1.4] and BRS at rest were significantly lower in CAdysf than controls [P < 0.01; Effect size (Cohen's d): ≥ 1.36]. In CAdysf, post-exercise increases in heart rate, sympathetic activity (low-frequency band, LF), and sympathovagal balance (LF:HF ratio), as well as decreases in R-R interval, parasympathetic activity (high-frequency band, HF), and BRS were observed in AE [P < 0.05; Effect size (Cohen's d): ≥ 1.31] and SE [P < 0.05; Effect size (Cohen's d): ≥ 0.79] vs. CTL, but changes were larger after AE than SE [P < 0.05; Effect size (Cohen's d): ≥ 0.73]. In conclusion, both AE and SE elicited post-exercise changes in HRV and BRS among CAdysf men, primarily reflected by lowered vagal modulation, increased sympathovagal balance, and a delayed BRS recovery pattern. However, those changes seem to be more likely to occur after AE than SE.