Abstract
Substantial inter-individual variations in exercise economy exist even in highly trained endurance athletes. The variation is believed to be determined partly by intrinsic factors. Therefore, in the present study, we compared exercise economy in V2-skating, double poling, and uphill running. Ten highly trained male cross-country skiers (23 ± 3 years, 180 ± 6 cm, 75 ± 8 kg, VO2peak running: 76.3 ± 5.6 mL·kg−1·min−1) participated in the study. Exercise economy and VO2peak during treadmill running, ski skating (V2 technique) and double poling were compared based on correlation analysis. There was a very large correlation in exercise economy between V2-skating and double poling (r = 0.81) and large correlations between V2-skating and running (r = 0.53) and double poling and running (r = 0.58). There were trivial to moderate correlations between exercise economy and the intrinsic factors VO2peak (r = 0.00–0.23), cycle rate (r = 0.03–0.46), body mass (r = −0.09–0.46) and body height (r = 0.11–0.36). In conclusion, the inter-individual variation in exercise economy could be explained only moderately by differences in VO2peak, body mass and body height. Apparently other intrinsic factors contribute to the variation in exercise economy between highly trained subjects.
Highlights
The speed achieved in endurance competitions depends on several physiological and mechanical factors
EXERCISE ECONOMY There was a very large correlation between V2-skating and double poling for exercise economy (r = 0.81; 90% confidence interval 0.47–0.94) and gross efficiency (r = 0.80; 0.44–0.94), while large correlations were observed between V2-skating and running (r = 0.53; −0.3–0.84) and double poling and running exercise economies (r = 0.58; −0.04–0.86) (Figure 2)
Ventilation and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were similar between exercise modes while heart rate (HR), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and La− were higher during double poling than V2-skating and running (Table 1)
Summary
The speed achieved in endurance competitions depends on several physiological and mechanical factors. Lucia et al (2006) showed that the best Eritrean runners had a significantly better exercise economy, despite a lower training experience and volume, than their Spanish counterparts. These differences in exercise economy are probably more related to anthropometrics (long, slender shanks, and lower body mass index) rather than metabolic differences (Saltin et al, 1995; Lucia et al, 2006). Subjects who were most economical in one ski skating technique were relatively economical in the other ski skating technique, even if these two techniques are shown to be biomechanically very different (Myklebust et al, 2013) These studies indicate that intrinsic factors contribute significantly to the variance in exercise economy between highly trained subjects
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