The Effects of Electrostimulation and Core Exercises on Recovery After High-Intensity Exercise

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of electrostimulation and core exercises on recovery after high-intensity exercise. Methods: The participants of this study consists of 12 male bodybuilders who regularly train and between the ages 18-30. Tabata high intensity interval training (HIIT) was applied with different recovery methods to the athletes on three different days and the recovery levels of athletes were analysed. Heart rate and blood lactate levels were measured at baseline (PRE) at immediately after the HIIT (POST), at the 1 minutes after HIIT (1min), at the 5 minutes after HIIT (5min), and at the 10 minutes after HIIT (10min). On the rest days, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and serum creatine kinase (CK) measurements were done to determine the muscle damage. Results: The in-group comparisons for lactate levels showed no significant difference (p>0,01). The level of lactate on the 10min was found to be significantly lower than the 5min in the core exercise group (p<0,01). Similarly in the electrostimulation group, 10m lactate levels are significantly lower than 5min (p<0,01). There were no statistically significant differences in the heart rate measurements (p<0,01). The results showed no statistically significant difference between the groups although the averages of LDH and CK showed variations (p>0,01). These results show that the lactate level reaches to the maximum level after HIIT, and the level of lactate decreases between the 5th and the 10th minutes. Discussion and conclusion: These indicate that the active recovery methods are more effective than the passive. It was found that the active recovery methods accelerate the lactate removal from the metabolism and provide effective recovery in short time during the recovery period after exercise.