Influence of Prior Intense Exercise and Cold Water Immersion in Recovery for Performance and Physiological Response during Subsequent Exercise

Abstract

Athletes in intense endurance sports (e.g., 4000-m track cycling) often perform maximally (~4 min) twice a day due to qualifying and finals being placed on the same day. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate repeated performance on the same day in a competitive setting (part A) and the influence from prior intense exercise on subsequent performance and physiological response to moderate and maximal exercise with and without the use of cold water immersion (CWI) in recovery (part B). In part A, performance times during eight World championships for male track cyclists were extracted from the qualifying and final races in 4000-m individual pursuit. In part B, twelve trained cyclists with an average (±SD) ⩒O2-peak of 67 ± 5 mL/min/kg performed a protocol mimicking a qualifying race (QUAL) followed 3 h later by a performance test (PT) with each exercise period encompassing intense exercise for ~4 min preceded by an identical warm-up period in both a control setting (CON) and using cold water immersion in recovery (CWI; 15 min at 15°C). Performance was lowered (P < 0.001) from qualification to finals (259 ± 3 vs. 261 ± 3 s) for the track cyclists during World championships in part A. In part B, mean power in PT was not different in CWI relative to CON (406 ± 43 vs. 405 ± 38 W). Peak ⩒O2 (5.04 ± 0.50 vs. 5.00 ± 0.49 L/min) and blood lactate (13 ± 3 vs. 14 ± 3 mmol/L) did not differ between QUAL and PT and cycling economy and potassium handling was not impaired by prior intense exercise. In conclusion, performance is reduced with repeated maximal exercise in world-class track cyclists during 4000-m individual pursuit lasting ~4 min, however prior intense exercise do not appear to impair peak ⩒O2, peak lactate, cycling economy, or potassium handling in trained cyclists and CWI in recovery does not improve subsequent performance.

Immersion with menthol improves recovery between 2 cycling exercises in hot and humid environment

“…Yet although CWI has a positive effect on recovery (Versey et al 2013), the effect of immersion between two successive exercise bouts has not been studied much. Recently, Christensen and Bangsbo (2016) showed that CWI recovery (15 min at 15°C) did not lead to better subsequent performance in a simulated competition (two maximal ~4-min efforts separated by 3 hr). Vaile et al (2008) showed that three water immersion conditions (10°C, 15°C, 20°C) were effective in reducing thermal strain and more effective than active recovery in maintaining subsequent highintensity cycling performance.…”

Cold-water immersion after training sessions: effects on fiber type-specific adaptations in muscle K+transport proteins to sprint-interval training in men

“…Submersion into cold water (Յ15°C) after training and competition has become a routine for many athletes, such as those engaged in cycling and football. Cold-water immersion (CWI) in recovery has been shown to reduce the decline in maximal force (8) and intense exercise performance (40) invoked by prior intense exercise, although effects of CWI were absent (10,61) or even detrimental to physical recovery (9) in other studies. While the impact of CWI in recovery on subsequent physical performance is well studied, few studies have examined its effects on training adaptation.…”