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Speeding of VO2 kinetics in response to endurance-training in older and young women

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Abstract

The goal of this study was to examine the time-course of changes in oxygen uptake kinetics (τVO2p) during step-transitions from 20 W to moderate-intensity cycling in response to endurance-training in older (O) and young (Y) women. Six O (69 ± 7 years) and 8 Y (25 ± 5 years) were tested pre-training, and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks of training. VO2p was measured breath-by-breath using a mass spectrometer. Changes in deoxygenated-hemoglobin concentration of the vastus lateralis (∆[HHb]) were measured by near-infrared spectroscopy in Y (but this was not possible in O). VO2p and ∆[HHb] were modeled with a mono-exponential. Training was performed on a cycle-ergometer three times per week for 45 min at ~70% of VO2peak. Pre-training τVO2p was greater (p < 0.05) in O (55 ± 16 s) than Y (31 ± 8 s). After 3 weeks training, τVO2p decreased (p < 0.05) in both O (35 ± 12 s) and Y (22 ± 4 s). A pre-training “overshoot” in the normalized ∆[HHb]/VO2p ratio relative to the subsequent steady-state level (interpreted as a mismatch of local O2 delivery to muscle VO2) was observed in Y. Three weeks of training resulted in that “overshoot” being abolished. Thus there was a training-induced speeding of VO2 kinetics in O and Y. In the Y this appeared to be the result of improved matching of local O2 delivery to muscle VO2. In O, inadequate systemic O2 distribution (as indirectly expressed by the arterial-venous O2 difference/VO2p ratio) seemed to play a role for the initial slower rate of adjustment in VO2p.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to express our gratitude to the subjects in this study and to acknowledge the assistance provided by Brad Hansen, Matt Spencer and Lisa Chin. This study was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) research and equipment grants. Additional support was provided by Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada. J. M. Murias was supported by a doctoral research scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada

    Juan M. Murias, John M. Kowalchuk & Donald H. Paterson

  2. School of Kinesiology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Juan M. Murias, John M. Kowalchuk & Donald H. Paterson

  3. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada

    John M. Kowalchuk

Authors
  1. Juan M. Murias
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  2. John M. Kowalchuk
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  3. Donald H. Paterson
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Correspondence to Donald H. Paterson.

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Communicated by Susan Ward.

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Murias, J.M., Kowalchuk, J.M. & Paterson, D.H. Speeding of VO2 kinetics in response to endurance-training in older and young women. Eur J Appl Physiol 111, 235–243 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-010-1649-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-010-1649-6

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