Abstract
Purpose
The adaptations induced by endurance training on the neuromuscular function remain under investigation and, for methodological reasons, unclear. This study investigates the effects of cycling training on neuromuscular fatigue and its peripheral contribution measured during and immediately after cycling exercise.
Methods
Fourteen healthy men performed a fatigue test before a 9-week cycling program (PRE) and two tests after training: at the same absolute power output as PRE (POSTABS) and based on the post-training maximal aerobic power (POSTREL). Throughout the tests and at exhaustion (EXH), maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and peripheral fatigue were assessed in the quadriceps muscle by electrical nerve stimulation [single twitch (Pt); high-frequency doublet (Db100) and low-to-high-frequency ratio (Db10:100)].
Results
Time to EXH was longer in POSTABS than PRE (34 ± 5 vs. 27 ± 4 min, P < 0.001), and POSTREL tended to be longer than PRE (30 ± 6 min, P = 0.053). MVC and peripheral fatigue were overall less depressed in POSTABS than PRE at isotime. At EXH, MVC and Db10:100 were similarly reduced in all sessions (–37 to − 42% and − 30 to − 37%, respectively). Db100 tended to be less depressed in POSTABS than PRE (–40 ± 9 vs. − 48 ± 16%, P = 0.050) and in POSTREL than PRE (–39 ± 9%, P = 0.071). Pt decreased similarly in POSTABS and PRE (–52 ± 16 vs. − 54 ± 16%), but POSTREL tended to be less depressed than PRE (–48 ± 14%, P = 0.075).
Conclusions
This study confirms fatigue attenuation at isotime after training. Yet lower or similar fatigue at EXH indicates that, unlike previously suggested, fatigue tolerance may not be upregulated after 9 weeks of cycling training.
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Abbreviations
- CST:
-
Constant-load submaximal training
- Db10 :
-
Low-frequency doublet
- Db10:100 :
-
Low-frequency fatigue
- Db100 :
-
High-frequency doublet
- ECC:
-
Excitation–contraction coupling
- EXH:
-
Exhaustion
- GET:
-
Gas exchange threshold
- HIIT:
-
High-intensity interval training
- HR:
-
Heart rate
- La:
-
Lactate
- MVC:
-
Maximal voluntary contraction
- NMF:
-
Neuromuscular fatigue
- POSTABS :
-
Fatigue session based on the same absolute power output as before training
- POSTREL :
-
Fatigue session based on the same relative intensity as before training
- PRE:
-
Initial fatigue test
- Pt:
-
Peak twitch
- RCP:
-
Respiratory compensation point
- RPE:
-
Rate of perceived exertion
- SERCA:
-
Sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase
- TMS:
-
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
- TTE:
-
Time to exhaustion
- TTEPRE :
-
TTE of PRE
- \(\dot {V}\)CO2 :
-
CO2 output
- \(\dot {V}\)E:
-
Minute ventilation
- \(\dot {V}\)E/\(\dot {V}\)CO2 :
-
Ventilatory equivalent of V̇CO2
- \(\dot {V}\)O2max :
-
Maximal oxygen uptake
- \(\dot {V}\)O2peak :
-
Peak \(\dot {V}\)O2
- W max :
-
Maximal aerobic power output
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Funding
This study was supported by the Université Savoie Mont Blanc as part of the doctoral work of José Mira. Saied Jalal Aboodarda was funded by the Eyes High Postdoctoral Scholars.
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TR, GYM, SJA, and JM conceived and designed the research. SJA, JM, MF, RJ, SJM, and KA conducted the experiment and analyzed data. JM wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Communicated by Phillip D. Chilibeck.
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Mira, J., Aboodarda, S.J., Floreani, M. et al. Effects of endurance training on neuromuscular fatigue in healthy active men. Part I: Strength loss and muscle fatigue. Eur J Appl Physiol 118, 2281–2293 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3950-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-018-3950-8