Abstract
Athletes who train for competitive sports are exposed to demanding training schedules which often occur multiple times a day or on consecutive days. Based on this premise, recovery techniques are regarded as an essential element of training and optimal performance outcomes. PURPOSE: To examine three different recovery modes on cortisol, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) levels following an exhaustive endurance cycling bout. METHODS: In a cross-over design, twelve aerobically trained males (21.13±2.26yrs, 72.05±8.09kg, 178.42±6.27cm) were randomly matched by VO2peak (53.71±6.28 ml·kg-1·min-1) and assigned to one of three recovery methods: Anti-gravity Treadmill (AGT), Stationary Cycling (SC) or Static Stretching (SS). Participants completed an 18.25 mile time trial (69.29±12.52min) performed by stationary cycling on a Computrainer. Recovery methods were performed for 30 minutes immediately following the endurance bout. AGT and SC recovery modes were performed at 40% VO2peak. Blood samples were collected prior to (T2Pre), immediately after (T2Post) and at 3 (T3) and 24 hours (T4) following the exercise session. Serum blood was analyzed for cortisol, IL-6, and TNFα. Participants repeated the testing session on two more occasions with a two week period in between sessions. Data was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: A significant decrease in cortisol was observed at T3 (T2Pre 5175.99±974.74 vs T3 1638.41±364.96 (pg/ml)), while a significant increase was observed from T3 to T4 (T3 1638.41±364.96 vs T4 5622.56±1356.73 (pg/ml)). No treatment (p=0.47) or treatment by time interaction (p=0.42) was detected for cortisol. Further, no main effect for time, treatment, or treatment by time was detected for IL-6 or TNFα. CONCLUSIONS: No differences were noted between recovery methods on biomarkers of systemic stress and inflammation following an acute bout of endurance cycling. Anti-gravity Treadmill provided by Alter-G, Inc.
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