Comparison of Physiological Strain and Muscular Performance of Athletes During Two Intermittent Running Exercises at the Velocity Associated with V˙O2max

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine physiological strain and muscular performance responses of well trained athletes during two intermittent running exercise protocols at the velocity associated with VO2max. Ten national level middle-distance runners (VO2max 69.4+/-5.1; mean+/-SD) performed in random order two 28 min treadmill running exercises: 14 bouts of 60 s runs with 60 s rest (IR60) and 7 bouts of 120 s runs with 120 s rest between each run (IR120). During IR120 peak oxygen uptake (12%), peak heart rate (3%) and peak blood lactate (79%) were significantly higher than during IR60 (P< 0.001) and almost the same as in the VO2max test. In IR120 the relative aerobic energy release calculated on the basis of the accumulated oxygen deficit during the running bouts was significantly higher than in IR60 (81.5+/-2.7 vs. 70.2+/-2.6%, P<0.001) likewise the sum oxygen consumption during the 14 min running (P< 0.001), while during the 14 min recovery it was as much lower (P < 0.001). There were no changes either during or between the IR60 and IR120 protocols with regard to the muscular performance parameters, stride length or height of maximal vertical jumps. In conclusion, during intermittent running at the velocity associated with VO2max doubling the duration of work and rest bouts from 60 s to 120s increased the physiological strain of well trained athletes to the same level as at exhaustion in the VO2max test but the muscular performance variables were not influenced.

Heart rate variability is related to training load variables in interval running exercises

“…physiological TL of exercises have been detected by Vuorimaa et al (2000). The exercises in the study of Vuorimaa et al (2000) were performed at the maximal exercise intensity (100% of VO2max) and, therefore, the duration of exercise had greater effect on physiological TL compared to lower intensity exercises (85% of Vmax) as in the recreationally trained subjects of the present study.…”

Acute effects of endurance exercise on jumping and kicking performance in top‐class young soccer players

“…In the present study, we did not detect significant differences in countermovement jump height before and after exercise, reinforcing previous observations that countermovement jump height was not affected by endurance activity. Vuorimaa et al (2000) reported no significant changes in the jump height of ten national-level middle-distance runners after two intermittent exercise protocols at the velocity associated with F0 2max : fourteen 60-s runs with 60 s rest between runs and seven 120-s runs with 120 s rest between runs. It has also been reported that countermovement jump performance of middle-distance runners does not decrease significantly until a blood lactate concentration of ~ 10 mmol • 1 _ * (Rusko, Nummela, & Mero, 1993).…”

Acute changes in muscle activation and leg extension performance after different running exercises in elite long distance runners

“…Besides the metabolic differences, the repeated running bouts of short duration also obviously affects the muscular performance differently compared to a prolonged continuous running exercise. During the intermittent submaximal 28 min runs (Vuorimaa et al 2000) and during the initial phases of a progressive and intermittent anaerobic running tests (Paavolainen et al 1994, Vuorimaa et al 1996 counter movement jumping performance has been shown to remain unchanged or even to improve although after prolonged running of long duration it has been reported to decrease by about 10% (Lepers et al 2000b).…”