Abstract
Purpose
This study examined whether lower-volume exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) performed 2 weeks before high-volume muscle-damaging exercise protects against its detrimental effect on running performance.
Methods
Sixteen male participants were randomly assigned to a lower-volume (five sets of ten squats, n = 8) or high-volume (ten sets of ten squats, n = 8) EIMD group and completed baseline measurements for muscle soreness, knee extensor torque, creatine kinase (CK), a 5-min fixed-intensity running bout and a 3-km running time-trial. Measurements were repeated 24 and 48 h after EIMD, and the running time-trial after 48 h. Two weeks later, both groups repeated the baseline measurements, ten sets of ten squats and the same follow-up testing (Bout 2).
Results
Data analysis revealed increases in muscle soreness and CK and decreases in knee extensor torque 24–48 h after the initial bouts of EIMD. Increases in oxygen uptake \( \left( {{\dot{V}\text{O}}_{2} } \right) \), minute ventilation \( \left( {{\dot{V}}_{\text{E}} } \right) \) and rating of perceived exertion were observed during fixed-intensity running 24–48 h after EIMD Bout 1. Likewise, time increased and speed and \( {\dot{V}\text{O}}_{ 2} \) decreased during a 3-km running time-trial 48 h after EIMD. Symptoms of EIMD, responses during fixed-intensity and running time-trial were attenuated in the days after the repeated bout of high-volume EIMD performed 2 weeks after the initial bout.
Conclusions
This study demonstrates that the protective effect of lower-volume EIMD on subsequent high-volume EIMD is transferable to endurance running. Furthermore, time-trial performance was found to be preserved after a repeated bout of EIMD.
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Abbreviations
- CK:
-
Creatine kinase
- CO2 :
-
Carbon dioxide
- EIMD:
-
Exercise-induced muscle damage
- EMG:
-
Electromyography
- HR:
-
Heart rate
- [La]:
-
Blood lactate
- LTP:
-
Lactate turnpoint
- MVC:
-
Maximal voluntary contraction
- O2 :
-
Oxygen
- RBE:
-
Repeated bout effect
- RPE:
-
Rating of perceived exertion
- SF:
-
Stride frequency
- SL:
-
Stride length
- VAS:
-
Visual analogue scale
- \( {\dot{V}}_{\text{E}} \) :
-
Minute ventilation
- \( {\dot{V}\text{O}}_{ 2} \) :
-
Oxygen uptake
- VL:
-
Vastus lateralis
- VM:
-
Vastus medialis
- \( {\dot{V}\text{O}}_{{ 2 {\text{peak}}}} \) :
-
Peak oxygen uptake
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank all participants who took part in the study and the Human Performance Laboratory staff for their technical support.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical standard
The authors declare that the experiments carried out complied with current UK laws.
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Communicated by Martin Flueck.
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Burt, D., Lamb, K., Nicholas, C. et al. Lower-volume muscle-damaging exercise protects against high-volume muscle-damaging exercise and the detrimental effects on endurance performance. Eur J Appl Physiol 115, 1523–1532 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3131-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3131-y