Relationship between anaerobic work capacity and critical oxygenation in athletes

Abstract

Objective: Anaerobic work capacity (AWC) is understood as the maximum power that the athlete can withstand over time, conditioned by high intensity effort and it is important to interpret it for the performance improvement. In addition, the muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) provides information on muscle metabolism and hemodynamics. Likewise, critical oxygenation (CO) is the highest metabolic rate that results in a fully oxidative energy supply that reaches a stable state at the substrate level. The main problem is that SmO2 generally offers a traditional laboratory interpretation without application in field tests, Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide the use of CO as an indicator of AWC performance in high intensity exercise. 
 Methods: Twenty-two male rugby players participated. Peak torques during an isokinetic fatigue test and muscle oxygen consumption (mVO2) and SmO2 in the vastus lateralis were measured. A correlation and multiple regression analysis were applied to find an explanatory prediction model of the AWC. 
 Results: A greater SmO2 amplitude and CO would mean less anaerobic work (r = -0.58 and r=-0.63) and less force production. In addition, CO along with weight (kg) can explain the AWC by 64% during high intensity exercise. 
 Conclusion: The measurement of critical oxygenation is associated with the AWC, so should be considered a performance factor. These parameters could be included in NIRS sensors to evaluate muscle metabolism.