Abstract

To describe the importance of the anaerobic pathway during different high-intensity intermittent running exercises at moderate altitude,3 experimental protocols (PROTs) were examined. The PROTs consisted of a maximum of 5 bouts of 400 m on a treadmill, separated by 1 (PROT 1), 2 (PROT 2) and 5 (PROT 3) minutes of recovery. Five minutes after the last repetition, the subjects executed a high-intensity steady-state test. The results obtained show that the increase in recovery time improved the performance in PROTs (65.29±21.95 in PROT 1 to 79.93±24.49 and 91.95±17.46% in PROT 2 and PROT 3 respectively by p<0.001). The maximum lactate value obtained during the PROT was similar in the 3 cases (14.32±5.0 vs 13.56±2.5 and 13.74±4.5 mmol-1 for PROT 1, PROT 2 and PROT 3) although only during PROT 2 and PROT 3 did lactate dynamics show relative stability during the last two bouts (p<0.05). The VO2peak increased from the 1st set to the set (p<0.05) in PROTs. The accumulated oxygen deficit obtained by bout during intermittent exercise was hígh in PROT 1 (29±12 ml.kg-1.bout-1) vs PROT 2 and PROT 3 (17±11 and 18±12 ml.kg-1. bout-1, respectively by p<0.001). We conclude that, at moderate altitude, the AOD observed during high-intensity intermittent exercise is similar when the recovery time between repetitions is increased from 2 to 5 minutes. The ìmprovement of performance in PROTs 1 to 2 and 3 is maintained by aerobic metabolism. Verf.-Referat