Lactate, Heart Rate and Rating of Perceived Exertion Responses to Shorter and Longer Duration CrossFit® Training Sessions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze blood lactate concentration (LAC), heart rate (HR), and rating perceived exertion (RPE) during and after shorter and longer duration CrossFit® sessions. Nine men (27.7 ± 3.2 years; 11.3 ± 4.6% body fat percentage and training experience: 41.1 ± 19.6 months) randomly performed two CrossFit® sessions (shorter: ~4 min and longer: 17 min) with a 7-day interval between them. The response of LAC and HR were measured pre, during, immediately after, and 10, 20, and 30 min after the sessions. RPE was measured pre and immediately after sessions. Lactate levels were higher during the recovery of the shorter session as compared with the longer session (shorter: 15.9 ± 2.2 mmol/L/min, longer: 12.6 ± 2.6 mmol/L/min; p = 0.019). There were no significant differences between protocols on HR during (shorter: 176 ± 6 bpm or 91 ± 4% HRmax, longer: 174 ± 3 bpm or 90 ± 3% HRmax, p = 0.387). The LAC was significantly higher throughout the recovery period for both training sessions as compared to pre-exercise. The RPE was increased immediately after both sessions as compared to pre-exercise, while there was no significant difference between them (shorter: 8.7 ± 0.9, longer: 9.6 ± 0.5; p = 0.360). These results demonstrated that both shorter and longer sessions induced elevated cardiovascular responses which met the recommendations for gains in cardiovascular fitness. In addition, both training sessions had a high metabolic and perceptual response, which may not be suitable if performed on consecutive days.

Characterization of Hormonal, Metabolic, and Inflammatory Responses in CrossFit® Training: A Systematic Review

“…The training intensity was verified in a few studies through heart rate (HR) assessment, in which the HR remained between 85.9 and 97.4% of the maximum HR (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Murawska-Cialowicz et al, 2015 ; Kliszczewicz et al, 2018a , b ; Maté-Muñoz et al, 2018 ; Tibana et al, 2018 ; Ahmad et al, 2019 ; Feito et al, 2019a ). Regarding the WOD time, 10 studies used protocols with times <10 min (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Kliszczewicz et al, 2017 , 2018a , b ; Maté-Muñoz et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Mangine et al, 2018 , 2019 ; Tibana et al, 2018 ; Timón et al, 2019 ), 13 studies used protocols with times between 10 and 19 min (Murawska-Cialowicz et al, 2015 ; Shaw et al, 2015 ; Escobar et al, 2016 , 2017 ; Kliszczewicz et al, 2017 , 2018a , b ; Maté-Muñoz et al, 2017 ; Durkalec-Michalski et al, 2018 ; Mangine et al, 2018 , 2019 ; Tibana et al, 2018 ; Feito et al, 2019a ), and five studies used protocols with times over 20 min (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Maté-Muñoz et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Mangine et al, 2018 ; Tibana et al, 2019b ).…”

“…This increase seems to occur at the beginning of the training and persists for up to 30 min after the session (Tibana et al, 2018 ). Some studies presented differences between the different WODs (Tibana et al, 2016 ; Maté-Muñoz et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Timón et al, 2019 ), and some found no differences (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Durkalec-Michalski et al, 2018 ; Tibana et al, 2018 , 2019b ). Chronically, Murawska-Cialowicz et al ( 2015 ) reported non-significant changes in lactate values after 3 months of CrossFit ® training.…”

“…The studies that described the training protocols analyzed participants who performed different combinations of multiple types of exercise modalities. CV, gymnastic and weightlifting exercises): gymnastic ( n = 2; Shaw et al, 2015 ; Ahmad et al, 2019 ), G + W ( n = 4; Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Escobar et al, 2016 , 2017 ; Timón et al, 2019 ), CV + weightlifting ( n = 6; Perciavalle et al, 2016 ; Kliszczewicz et al, 2017 , 2018a , b ; Coco et al, 2019 ; Feito et al, 2019a ), and CV + gymnastic + weightlifting ( n = 9; Tibana et al, 2016 , 2018 , 2019a , b ; Maté-Muñoz et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Durkalec-Michalski et al, 2018 ; Mangine et al, 2018 , 2019 ).…”

“…Nineteen studies (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Murawska-Cialowicz et al, 2015 ; Shaw et al, 2015 ; Escobar et al, 2016 , 2017 ; Perciavalle et al, 2016 ; Tibana et al, 2016 , 2018 , 2019a ; Kliszczewicz et al, 2017 , 2018a ; Maté-Muñoz et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Durkalec-Michalski et al, 2018 ; Ahmad et al, 2019 ; Cadegiani et al, 2019 ; Coco et al, 2019 ; Feito et al, 2019a ; Timón et al, 2019 ) investigated metabolic responses (see Table 2 ). The metabolic variables analyzed were lactate (Fernandez-Fernandez et al, 2015 ; Murawska-Cialowicz et al, 2015 ; Shaw et al, 2015 ; Escobar et al, 2016 , 2017 ; Perciavalle et al, 2016 ; Tibana et al, 2016 , 2018 , 2019b ; Maté-Muñoz et al, 2017 , 2018 ; Durkalec-Michalski et al, 2018 ; Kliszczewicz et al, 2018a ; Ahmad et al, 2019 ; Cadegiani et al, 2019 ; Coco et al, 2019 ; Feito et al, 2019a ; Timón et al, 2019 ), glycemia (Shaw et al, 2015 ; Perciavalle et al, 2016 ; Tibana et al, 2016 ; Kliszczewicz et al, 2017 ; Durkalec-Michalski et al, 2018 ; Cadegiani et al, 2019 ; Coco et al, 2019 ; Timón et al, 2019 ), cholesterol (Shaw et al, 2015 ), creatinine (Cadegiani et al, 2019 ), GOT and GPT (Timón et al, 2019 ).…”

“…These responses, which can be induced by stressors and are vital for host defense and natural tissue homeostasis, initiate the elimination of noxious compounds and damaged tissue (Allen et al, 2015 ). Apparently, several hormonal (Kliszczewicz et al, 2018a ; Mangine et al, 2018 ; Cadegiani et al, 2019 ), metabolic (Maté-Muñoz et al, 2018 ; Tibana et al, 2018 ; Feito et al, 2019a ) and inflammatory (Michnik et al, 2017 ; Durkalec-Michalski et al, 2018 ) changes occur with CrossFit ® practice. Emphasizing the strong relationship between the hormonal, metabolic, and inflammatory profiles that occur with systematic practice of this high-intensity activity is important (Coco et al, 2019 ; Tibana et al, 2019b ).…”