Effects Of Prior Warm-up Regime On Severe Intensity Cycling Performance

Abstract

PURPOSE To test the hypothesis that prior heavy exercise would improve performance during subsequent severe intensity cycling performance, whereas prior moderate exercise would have no effect and prior sprint exercise would negatively affect performance. METHODS Following habituation to the experimental methods, 12 well-trained cyclists completed a series of 7 min performance trials, involving 2 min of constant work rate exercise at ∼90% VO2max and a further 5 min in which subjects attempted to maximise power output, both without prior intervention and 10 min following bouts of moderate, heavy or sprint exercise in a random order. Pulmonary gas exchange was measured breath-by-breath during all performance trials. RESULTS At the onset of the performance trial, baseline blood [lactate] was significantly elevated after heavy and sprint, but not moderate exercise (mean (SD): control, 1.0 (0.3) mM; moderate, 1.0 (0.2) mM; heavy, 3.0 (1.1) mM; sprint, 5.9 (1.5) mM). All three interventions significantly increased the amplitude of the primary VO2 response (control, 2.59 (0.28) L·min−1; moderate, 2.69 (0.27) L·min−1; heavy, 2.78 (0.26) L·min−1; sprint 2.78 (0.30) L·min−1). Mean power output was significantly increased by prior moderate and heavy exercise, but slightly reduced after sprint exercise (control, 330 (42) W; moderate, 338 (39) W; heavy, 339 (42) W; sprint, 324 (45) W). CONCLUSIONS These data indicate that priming exercise performed in the moderate and heavy intensity domains can improve severe intensity cycling performance by ∼2–3%, the latter condition doing so despite a mild lactacidosis being present at exercise onset.