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The physiological responses to repeated upper-body sprint exercise in highly trained athletes

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European Journal of Applied Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To study performance, physiological and biomechanical responses during repeated upper-body sprint exercise.

Methods

Twelve male elite cross-country skiers performed eight 8-s maximal poling sprints with a 22-s recovery while sitting on a modified SkiErg poling ergometer. Force, movement velocity, cycle rate, work per cycle, oxygen saturation in working muscles and pulmonary oxygen uptake were measured continuously. A 3-min all-out ergometer poling test determined VO2peak, and 1 repetition maximum (1RM) strength was determined in a movement-specific pull-down.

Results

Average sprint power was 281 ± 48 W, with the highest power on the first sprint, a progressive decline in power output over the following four sprints, and a sprint decrement of 11.7 ± 4.1 %. Cycle rate remained unchanged, whereas work per cycle progressively decreased (P < 0.05). m. triceps brachii and m. latissimus dorsi were highly desaturated already after the first sprint (all P < 0.05), whereas the response was delayed for m. biceps brachii and m. vastus lateralis. Correspondingly, increases in VO2 mainly occurred over the first two sprints (P < 0.05) and plateaued at approximately 75 % of VO2peak. 1RM correlated with power during the first four sprints and with average sprint power (r = 0.71–0.80, all P < 0.05), whereas VO2peak correlated with power in the last three sprints (r = 0.60–0.71, all P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The main decrement in upper-body sprint performance was evident in the first five sprints, followed by highly desaturated muscles and a plateau in pulmonary oxygen uptake already after the first 2–3 sprints. While high maximal strength seems important for producing power, aerobic capacity correlates with power in the last sprints.

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Abbreviations

ATT:

Adipose tissue thickness

BB:

m. Biceps brachii

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

F :

Force

FIS:

International Ski Federation

HHb:

Deoxyhemoglobin

LAT:

m. Latissimus dorsi

NIRS:

Near-infrared spectroscopy

O2 :

Oxygen uptake

O2Hb:

Oxyhemoglobin

PCr:

Phosphocreatine

RSA:

Repeated sprint ability

SD:

Standard deviation

SmO2 :

Muscle oxygen saturation

TB:

m. Triceps brachii

tHb:

Total hemoglobin

VL:

m. Vastus lateralis

VO2max :

Maximal oxygen uptake

VO2peak :

Peak oxygen uptake

W :

Work

1RM:

1 Repetition maximum

Δl :

Average displacement

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported financially by the Mid-Norway Department of the Norwegian Olympic Committee. We would like to thank Xiangchun Tan, Knut Skovereng and Mads Hansen for help in the laboratory and the participants for their participation in this study. The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Center for Elite Sports Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Øyvind Sandbakk, Tommy Fredriksen Skålvik, Mireille van Beekvelt, Ann Magdalen Hegge & Gertjan Ettema

  2. Department of Physical Performance, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo, Norway

    Matt Spencer

  3. Department of Sport and Physical Education, Nord-Trøndelag University College, Levanger, Norway

    Boye Welde

  4. Department of Occupational Therapy and Prosthetics and Orthotics, Oslo and Akershus University College, Oslo, Norway

    Terje Gjøvaag

Authors
  1. Øyvind Sandbakk
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  2. Tommy Fredriksen Skålvik
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  3. Matt Spencer
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  4. Mireille van Beekvelt
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  5. Boye Welde
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  6. Ann Magdalen Hegge
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  7. Terje Gjøvaag
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Correspondence to Øyvind Sandbakk.

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Communicated by Jean-René Lacour.

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Sandbakk, Ø., Skålvik, T.F., Spencer, M. et al. The physiological responses to repeated upper-body sprint exercise in highly trained athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol 115, 1381–1391 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3128-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3128-6

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