Anthropometric determination of thigh volumes and thigh forces following acute training of increasing intensity in adult men

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of submaximal training of increasing intensity on the rate of fatigue and on the anthropometry of the quadriceps muscle. A group of 24 middle-aged male subjects trained three times a week for 12 weeks at incremental exercise intensities which elicited 66%–83% of the maximal heart rate reserve; 11 male subjects acted as controls. A purpose-built, isometric chair with an adjustable force transducer ensured a standard posture for each subject during a 20 s maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). The muscle plus bone mass of the thigh was calculated from a previously validated anthropometric method reinforced by measurements derived from water displacement and ultrasonics. Training-induced submaximal relationships were assessed by means of two ergometer tests of progressive intensity. Following training, the subjects' blood lactate concentrations had decreased from 5.5 (SD 1.7) to 3.9 (SD 1.4) mmol·1⁻¹ (P < 0.01) at the final exercise intensities. They increased thigh volumes from 10.7 (SD 1.7) to 11.0 (SD 1.7) 1 (P < 0.05) and thigh forces in 47.5% (P < 0.05) of the measurements. Heart rates and rates of perceived exertion were reduced (P < 0.01) following training; for the controls, all the above parameters remained constant. These results would seem to indicate that a submaximal type of training could enable a group of middle-aged men to increase the isometric forces of the thigh muscles by almost 50% when completing a MVC test following training. This suggests that this is a more suitable, safer form of maintaining and increasing maximal thigh forces for this, and older, age groups than specific isometric training alone.