The Influence of Aerobic Fitness on the Recovery of Peak Power Output

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of aerobic fitness on the recovery of peak power output (PPO) following a maximal 30 s sprint. On separate occasions, 16 well-trained men (age: 21 + or - 3 years; height: 1.84 + or - 0.05 m; body mass: 78.8 + or - 7.8 kg; and VO sub(2max): 4.28 + or - 0.54 L times min super(-1)) performed a 30 s maximal sprint on a cycle ergometer, followed by a predetermined stationary rest period (5, 10, 20, 40, 80, or 160 s) and a subsequent 5 s sprint to determine the kinetics of PPO during recovery. Comparison of the recovery kinetics of PPO and VO sub(2) revealed no significant difference between the variables (F sub((1,15)) = 3.16, p = 0.096); there was, however, a significant effect of time (F sub((5,75)) = 374.44, p < 0.001), and a significant variable x time interaction (F sub((5,75)) = 3.86, p = 0.004).