. Muscle metabolites and performance during high-intensity, intermittent exercise. J. Appl. Physiol. 84(5): 1687-1691, 1998.-Six men were studied during four 30-s ''all-out'' exercise bouts on an air-braked cycle ergometer. The first three exercise bouts were separated by 4 min of passive recovery; after the third bout, subjects rested for 4 min, exercised for 30 min at 30-35% peak O 2 consumption, and rested for a further 60 min before completing the fourth exercise bout. Peak power and total work were reduced (P Ͻ 0.05) during bout 3 [765 Ϯ 60 (SE) W; 15.8 Ϯ 1.0 kJ] compared with bout 1 (1,168 Ϯ 55 W, 23.8 Ϯ 1.2 kJ), but no difference in exercise performance was observed between bouts 1 and 4 (1,094 Ϯ 64 W, 23.2 Ϯ 1.4 kJ). Before bout 3, muscle ATP, creatine phosphate (CP), glycogen, pH, and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca 2ϩ uptake were reduced, while muscle lactate and inosine 5Ј-monophosphate were increased. Muscle ATP and glycogen before bout 4 remained lower than values before bout 1 (P Ͻ 0.05), but there were no differences in muscle inosine 5Ј-monophosphate, lactate, pH, and SR Ca 2ϩ uptake. Muscle CP levels before bout 4 had increased above resting levels. Consistent with the decline in muscle ATP were increases in hypoxanthine and inosine before bouts 3 and 4. The decline in exercise performance does not appear to be related to a reduction in muscle glycogen. Instead, it may be caused by reduced CP availability, increased H ϩ concentration, impairment in SR function, or some other fatigue-inducing agent. muscle fatigue; metabolism; glycogen; creatine phosphate; hydrogen ion DURING HIGH-INTENSITY EXERCISE, the major pathways for ATP resynthesis are the breakdown of creatine phosphate (CP) and the degradation of muscle glycogen to lactic acid (21,26,32). With repeated bouts of high-intensity exercise, the contribution of these processes to ATP turnover declines, and although there is an increase in the aerobic contribution to exercise (5, 26), reduced power output and total work production result (21,26). Reduced CP and glycogen availability may contribute to this decline in anaerobic energy production and exercise performance. Recently, a close relationship between CP availability and power output during intense exercise has been demonstrated (5, 6). Furthermore, intense knee extensor exercise performance during two exercise bouts separated by 1 h was maintained in a leg with elevated muscle glycogen, whereas performance was reduced in the contralateral leg with reduced muscle glycogen (3).Alternatively, it is possible that intramuscular acidosis, as a consequence of the increased glycolytic flux and electrolyte shifts that occur during intense exercise, is responsible for impaired performance. Increased hydrogen ion concentration ([H ϩ ]) may impair tension development (22) and/or reduce muscle glycogenolyis by inhibiting the activity of phosphofructokinase and/or phosphorylase (26). However, recent studies in humans have questioned the inhibitory effects of increased muscle acidity on muscle force pro...