Prolonged Exercise at a Constant Load on a Bicycle Ergometer: Ratings of Perceived Exertion and Leg Aches and Pain as well as Measurements of Blood Lactate Accumulation and Heart Rate*

Abstract

To study changes over time during prolonged exercise on a bicycle ergometer at a constant load, 22 healthy males rated perceived exertion as well as aches and pain in the legs, and measurements were taken on blood lactate accumulation and heart rate (HR). The prolonged exercise was carried out at WOBLA (the power level eliciting a blood lactate concentration of 4 mmol X l-1). All four measured variables, ratings of perceived exertion, ratings of aches and pain in the legs, blood lactate accumulation, and HR, grew systematically according to negatively accelerating functions. HR showed more of a steady state, whereas all the other three variables grew continuously over time. Three subgroups were identified related to the blood lactate response after 15 min at WOBLA: elevated (greater than 5 mmol X l-1), intermediate (3.5-4.9 mmol X l-1), and low (less than 3.4 mmol X l-1). It was suggested that a major contribution to the discrepancies in blood lactate between the subgroups after 15 min was partly due to insufficient warming up, which was 5 min at 20 W as compared with the final power level (WOBLA), which differed between 140 and 260 W. After 15 min both rated perceived exertion and rated aches and pain in the legs were related to the corresponding blood lactates. It was suggested that rated perceived exertion and rated aches and pain in the legs partly reflected the degree of "anaerobic" metabolism measured as blood lactate.

Heart-Rate Recommendations: Transfer Between Running and Cycling Exercise?

“…Method, reliability, and range of application for the calculation of IAT is described very well for running [7,14,23,30]. On the other hand, there is more uncertainty in the calculation of IAT for cycling.…”

“…Such competition systems enable empirical comparisons between performance and laboratory examinations in running [23,24]. Only smaller groups of subjects have been tested for maximal lactate steady state in cycling [3,14,30]. It is not proven, however, whether performance at the maximal lactate steady state for cycling can be a reference for the absolute performance in competitions and is subsequently usable as an index for training recommendations.…”

Biochemical changes in relation to a maximal exercise test in patients with fibromyalgia

“…Muscle pain in normal subjects during exercise is caused partly by increased lactate accumulation, but extra-cellular potassium accumulation might be significant also (Ljunggren et al, 1987;Sjogaard, 1990). Muscle pain in normal subjects during exercise is caused partly by increased lactate accumulation, but extra-cellular potassium accumulation might be significant also (Ljunggren et al, 1987;Sjogaard, 1990).…”

“…Besides chronic pain, patients with fibromyalgia often complain of muscle fatigue and increased pain during exercise and of a worsening in the symptoms after exercise. Muscle pain in normal subjects during exercise is caused partly by increased lactate accumulation, but extra-cellular potassium accumulation might be significant also (Ljunggren et al, 1987;Sjogaard, 1990). The cause of delayed-onset muscle soreness days after exercise is not fully understood (Armstrong, 1984).…”

Assessment of physical strain in younger and older subjects using heart rate and scalings of perceived exertion

“…However, all these studies (Borg, Ljunggren, and Ceci 1985;Gamberale 1972;Ljunggren, Ceci, and Karlsson 1987;Miller et al 1985) assessed inter-individual differences, not the influence of the physical activity on the HR -PE relationship.…”