Power output and peak blood lactate concentration following intermittent and continuous cycling tests of anerobic capacity

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the power output and peak blood lactate concentration (peak La) of an intermittent all‐out (IA) 90‐s cycle ergometer test with that of two other 90‐s cycle ergometer tests. Nineteen hockey players and 19 physical education students had similar results performing IA, continuous all‐out (CA), and continuous constant (CC) cycling tests. Eight fingertip blood samples were drawn serially between 1 and 11 minutes into the recovery after each 90‐s test to measure peak LA resulting from the test. Statistical analysis indicated: (1) a greater La for IA (mean ± SD; 14.2 ± 2.1 mmol·L−1) and CA (13.6 ± 1.9 mmol·L−1) than CC (12.4 ± 1.8 mmol·L−1; (2) IA had a higher mean power developed during the 90s (652 ± 65 W) than CA (538 ± 56 W) and CC (547 ± 53 W); and (3) CA had a greater power drop‐off during 90 s (492 ± 93 W) than IA (335 ± 72 W), which in turn had a higher power drop‐off than CC (261 ± 50 W). Contributing mechanisms may have involved both an increased phosphocreatine replenishment and muscle lactate efflux during the recovery intervals of the intermittent test. There was a low correlation between peak La and power output indices, indicating the complex interaction of physiologic factors affecting these variables. Results showed that an IA test may be more appropriate than a continuous test for providing a measure of anaerobic power while at the same time lasting long enough to test anaerobic glycolytic capacity.

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