Effects of Prior Upper Body Exercise on the 3-min All-Out Cycling Test in Men

INTRODUCTIONPrior upper body exercise reduces the curvature constant (W′) of the hyperbolic power–duration relationship without affecting critical power. This study tested the hypothesis that prior upper body exercise reduces the work done over the end-test power (WEP; analog of W′) during a 3-min all-out cycling test (3MT) without affecting the end-test power (EP; analog of critical power). METHODSTen endurance-trained men (V˙O2max = 62 ± 5 mL·kg·min) performed a 3MT without (CYC) and with (ARM-CYC) prior severe-intensity, intermittent upper body exercise. EP was calculated as the mean power output over the last 30 s of the 3MT, whereas WEP was calculated as the power-time integral above EP. RESULTSAt the start of the 3MT, plasma [La] (1.8 ± 0.4 vs 14.1 ± 3.4 mmol·L) and [H] (42.8 ± 3.1 vs 58.6 ± 5.5 nmol·L) were higher, whereas the strong ion difference (41.4 ± 2.2 vs 30.9 ± 4.6 mmol·L) and [HCO3] (27.0 ± 1.9 vs 16.9 ± 3.2 mmol·L) were lower during ARM-CYC than CYC (P < 0.010). EP was 12% lower during the 3MT of ARM-CYC (298 ± 52 W) than CYC (338 ± 60 W; P < 0.001), whereas WEP was not different (CYC12.8 ± 3.3 kJ vs ARM-CYC13.5 ± 4.1 kJ, P = 0.312). EP in CYC was positively correlated with the peak [H] (r = 0.78, P = 0008) and negatively correlated with the lowest [HCO3] (r = −0.74, P = 0.015). CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that EP during a 3MT in endurance-trained men is sensitive to fatigue-related ionic perturbation.