Adding vibration to high‐intensity intervals increase time at high oxygen uptake in well‐trained cyclists

Abstract

The importance of accumulated time ≥90% of maximal oxygen consumption (VO ) to improve performance in well-trained endurance athletes is well established. The present study compared the acute effects of adding vibrations (VIB; 40 Hz) with the work intervals during a high-intensity cycling session (HIT) with a traditional HIT session without vibration (TRAD) on time ≥90% of VO , time ≥90% of peak heart rate (HR ), electromyography (EMG) activity, and mean power in well-trained cyclists (n = 10, VO =78.6 ± 7.4 mL/min/kg). The order of VIB and TRAD was randomized and consisted of 6 × 5-minutes work intervals performed with the highest possible mean power across the work intervals (2.5-minutes standardized relief periods). VIB was superior to TRAD on time ≥90% of VO , (10.99 ± 7.00 vs 6.95 ± 5.28 minutes, respectively), time ≥90% of HR (24.61 ± 2.38 vs 19.97 ± 4.12 minutes, respectively), and averaged EMG activity in m. Vastus Lateralis during the work intervals (all P < 0.05). The EMG/power output ratio across all work intervals was higher in VIB than TRAD (P < 0.05). Mean values across work intervals showed no difference between VIB and TRAD in mean power, rate of perceived exertion, or blood lactate concentration. Thus, the present study indicated that adding vibration to the work intervals during a HIT session can acutely increase the physiological responses of the cardiovascular system and increase time ≥90% VO and should therefore be considered in order to optimize the exercise stimulus of well-trained cyclists.

Adding Intermittent Vibration to Varied-intensity Work Intervals: No Extra Benefit

“…%VȮ 2max sustained during cycling exercise [8,[10][11][12][13]. However, as in our study the vibration platform was only switched on during the 30-second blocks at 100%MAP, it seems reasonable to assume that a large proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibres were already recruited as a consequence of the high intensity [19,20], rendering vibration ineffective.…”

“…For instance, we have shown that varied-intensity work intervals (i.e., 3 x 30-second higher-intensity blocks within each 5-minute work interval) induce a higher %VȮ 2max and longer time >90%VȮ 2max during HIIT compared with constant-intensity work intervals [7]. However, time >90%VȮ 2max in that study [7] was still much less than the highest values reported in the literature for workouts of similar duration [3,4,8,9]. While differences in average exercise intensity may explain this observation, it prompts the question of whether HIIT with varied-intensity work intervals can be optimised to further enhance time >90%VȮ 2max .…”

“…In our lab, this vibration platform has been shown to generate a peak-to-peak displacement of 3 mm with an external load of 100 kg [27], resulting in a peak acceleration of 119.9 ms -2 . While this set-up has proved effective in delivering vibration to the cyclists' body [8], the exact characteristics of the transmitted vibration are unknown, due to distortion and attenuation effects [28], associated with: a) the damper pads and mobile arm extensions of the KICKR ergometer, and b) the dynamic nature of cycling exercise. ***Figure 1 here*** To examine the validity of the power outputs generated by the KICKR ergometer through this set-up, individual targets determined for each HIIT session were compared with SRM power meter readings.…”

Immune Response of Elite Enduro Racers to Laboratory and Racing Environments: The Influence of Training Impulse and Vibration

“…Instead, the results of the current study suggest that monitoring of vibration load in addition to training impulse in enduro athletes is recommended. Indeed, previous studies have shown that the addition of vibration to cycling exercise reduced the time to exhaustion [ 53 ] and increased the time at higher oxygen consumption but not higher heart rate [ 54 ], further demonstrating the importance of vibration in the measurement of training load in enduro mountain bike applications.…”

Validity and Reliability of the Computrainer Lab™ During Simulated 40 and 100 km Time-Trials

“…It has been used for research purposes to measure cycling TT performances (van Essen and Gibala, 2006 ; Berardi et al, 2008 ; Cermak et al, 2012 ; Wilkerson et al, 2012 ; Dyer and McKune, 2013 ; Lamberts, 2014 ; Nieman et al, 2015 ; Peveler et al, 2017 ; Adams et al, 2019 ; Ely et al, 2019 ; Perreault-Briere et al, 2019 ), TT's reliability (Lamberts et al, 2009 ; Sparks et al, 2016 ) or analyze pacing strategies during TTs (Atkinson and Brunskill, 2000 ; Micklewright et al, 2010 ; Jones et al, 2015 ; Jones and Williams, 2017 ; Whitehead et al, 2018 ). Although the company stopped producing the CT in 2017, this resistance trainer is still widely used (Dionne et al, 2018 ; Nieman et al, 2018a , b ; Rønnestad et al, 2018 ; Silva-Cavalcante et al, 2018 , 2019 ; Ely et al, 2019 ; Evens and Danoff, 2019 ; Chidnok et al, 2020 ; Haugen et al, 2020 ) and will likely be used for several more years by research teams all around the world, included ours (Jeker et al, 2020 ; Claveau et al, 2021 ), for several reasons. First, it is a plugged-in trainer, which confers more confidence and assurance to the researcher that a connectivity problem should not be occurring during an experiment; with the use of a wireless trainer, the slightest loss of signal could result in a failed experiment.…”