Morning Preconditioning Exercise Does Not Increase Afternoon Performance in Competitive Runners

Purpose: Preconditioning exercise is a widely used strategy believed to enhance performance later the same day. The authors examined the influence of preconditioning exercises 6 hours prior to a time-to-exhaustion (TTE) test during treadmill running. Methods: Ten male competitive runners (age = 26 [3] y, height = 184 [8] cm, weight = 73 [9] kg, maximum oxygen consumption = 72 [7] mL·kg−1·min−1) did a preconditioning session of running (RUN) or resistance exercise (RES) or no morning exercise (NoEx) in a randomized order, separated by >72 hours. The RUN consisted of 15 minutes of low-intensity running and 4 × 15 seconds at race pace (21–24 km·h−1) on a treadmill; RES involved 5 minutes of low-intensity running and 2 × 3 repetitions of isokinetic 1-leg shallow squats with maximal mobilization. Following a 6-hour break, electrically evoked force (m. vastus medialis), countermovement jump, running economy, and a TTE of approximately 2 minutes were examined. Results: Relative to NoEx, no difference was seen for RUN or RES in TTE (mean ± 95% CI: −1.3% ± 3.4% and −0.5% ± 6.0%) or running economy (0.2% ± 1.6% and 1.9% ± 2.7%; all Ps > .05). Jump height was not different for the RUN condition (1.0% ± 2.7%]) but tended to be higher in RES than in the NoEx condition (1.5% ± 1.6%, P = .07). The electrically evoked force tended to reveal low-frequency fatigue (reduced 20:50-Hz peak force ratio) only after RES compared to NoEx (−4.5% ± 4.6%, P = .06). Conclusion: The RUN or RES 6 hours prior to approximately 2 minutes of TTE running test did not improve performance in competitive runners.

The Effect of Resistance Exercise Priming in the Morning on Afternoon Sprint Cross-Country Skiing Performance

Purpose: We tested whether a single session of heavy-load resistance priming conducted in the morning improved double-poling (DP) performance in the afternoon. Methods: Eight national-level male cross-country skiers (mean [SD]: 23 [3] y, 184 [6] cm, 73 [7] kg, maximum oxygen consumption = 69 [6] mL·kg−1·min−1) carried out 2 days of afternoon performance tests. In the morning, 5 hours before tests, subjects were counterbalanced to either a session of 3 × 3 repetitions (approximately 85%–90% 1-repetition maximum) of squat and sitting pullover exercises or no exercise. The performance was evaluated in DP as time to exhaustion (TTE) (approximately 3 min) on a treadmill and 30-m indoor sprints before and after TTE (30-m DP pre/post). Furthermore, submaximal DP oxygen cost, countermovement jump, and isometric knee-extension force during electrical stimulation were conducted. Participants reported perceived readiness on test days. Results: Resistance exercise session versus no exercise did not differ for TTE (approximately 3 min above) (mean ± 95% confidence interval = 3.6% ± 6.0%; P = .29; effect size [ES], Cohen d = 0.27), 30-m DP pre (−0.56% ± 0.80%; P = .21; ES = 0.20), 30-m DP post (−0.18% ± 1.13%; P = .76; ES = 0.03), countermovement jump (−2.0% ± 2.8%; P = .21; ES = 0.12), DP oxygen cost (−0.13% ± 2.04%; P = .91; ES = 0.02), or perceived readiness (P ≥ .11). Electrical stimulation force was not different in contraction or relaxation time but revealed low-frequency fatigue in the afternoon for the resistance exercise session only (−12% [7%]; P = .01; ES = 1.3). Conclusion: A single session of heavy-load, low-volume resistance exercise in the morning did not increase afternoon DP performance of short duration in high-level skiers. However, leg low-frequency fatigue after resistance priming, together with the presence of small positive effects in 2 out of 3 DP tests, may indicate that the preconditioning was too strenuous.

Effects of Old Age on Knee Extensor Fatigue and Recovery From High-Velocity Muscle Contractions

ABSTRACTPurposeAlthough high-velocity contractions elicit greater muscle fatigue in older than young adults, the cause of this difference is unclear. We examined the potential roles of resting muscle architecture and baseline contractile properties, as well as changes in voluntary activation and low-frequency fatigue in response to high-velocity knee extensor work.MethodsVastus lateralis muscle architecture was determined in quiescent muscle by ultrasonography in 8 young (23.4±1.8 yrs) and 8 older women (69.6±1.1). Maximal voluntary dynamic (MVDC) and isometric (MVIC), and stimulated (80Hz and 10Hz, 500ms) isometric contractions were performed before and immediately after 120 MVDCs (240°·s−1, one every 2s).ResultsArchitecture variables did not differ between groups (p≥0.209), but the half-time of torque relaxation (T1/2) was longer in older than young women at baseline (151.9±6.0 vs. 118.8±4.4 ms, respectively, p=0.001). Older women fatigued more than young (to 33.6±4.7% vs. 55.2±4.2% initial torque, respectively; p=0.004), with no evidence of voluntary activation failure (ΔMVIC:80Hz torque) in either group (p≥0.317). Low-frequency fatigue (Δ10:80Hz torque) occurred in both groups (p<0.001), as did slowing of T1/2 (p=0.001), with no differences between groups. Baseline T1/2 was inversely associated with fatigue in older (r2=0.584, p=0.045), but not young women (r2=0.147, p=0.348).ConclusionsThese results indicate that differences in muscle architecture, voluntary activation, and low-frequency fatigue do not explain the greater fatigue of older compared with young women during high-velocity contractions. The inverse association between baseline T1/2 and fatigue in older women suggests that factors related to slower muscle contractile properties may be protective against fatigue during fast, repetitive contractions in aging.

Low-Frequency Fatigue at Different Muscle Length Following Intermittent Eccentric Drop Jumps in 12—14 Year-Old Boys

Low frequency fatigue (LFF) in 12—14 year-old adolescent boys (n = 10) doing 75 eccentric jumps performed every20 s from a platform 80 cm high was investigated.Thus the aim of this study was to find out if LFF manifests itself in the muscles of boys aged 12—14 years doing 75 dropjumps performed every 20 s at angles of 90˚ and 135˚ from a platform 80 cm high. The results of the research have shownthat doing 75 eccentric jumps performed every 20 s calls forth LFF in the muscles of boys that is particularly strong anddisappears more slowly at a shorter length of the muscle exercised. Thus, the hypothesis as to the sarcomeric origin ofLFF in the muscles of boys and men has been confirmed. Besides, the muscles of men of mature age are more resistantto LFF than those of boys. This fact, as well as a more acute pain brought about in the muscles of boys, indicates thatthe muscles of boys are less resistant to mechanical damage than those of men of mature age.It is maintained that as a result of the eccentric exercise performed, some portion of the weak sarcomeres gets tornand then the strong sarcomeres, i.e. the ones that develop contraction force have to work at a shorter muscle length.When muscle contraction length is short the sensitiveness of miofibrillas to Ca 2+ decreases. It is rather unexpectedthough that 24 h after the end of the exercise the force developed by electrostimulation at low frequencies (20 Hz) issmaller (p < 0.05), as compared to the initial force registered at a shorter muscle length. Since after the exercise therewas also a decrease in the force developed at a shorter muscle length in particular, the sarcomeres are believed tohave been damaged during eccentric exercise.Keywords: electrical stimulation, force, age, muscle damage, stretch-shortening exercise.