Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption after supramaximal individualized exercise: influence of physical fitness level: Influence du niveau d'aptitude physique

Objective. - Determine the influence of physical fitness level on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption after supramaximal-intermittent exercise. Method. - Fourteen subjects (seven trained and seven sedentary subjects) performed three repetitions of an exercise corresponding to 60% of time to exhaustion at 120% of the maximum aerobic power, with two recovery periods of 5 min each. The third exercise was followed by 20 min of recovery. The oxygen uptake was measured continuously using a breath-by-breath device. Blood samples were taken from fingers during recoveries for lactate analyses. Results. - The excess post-exercise oxygen consumption increased gradually during recovery in trained subjects (P < 0.01). However, values were practically similar in sedentary subjects. In addition, we found a linear relationship between excess post-exercise oxygen consumption and decrease lactate during the 20 min recovery. Whatever the level of subject physical fitness, these two parameters were significantly correlated (r = 0.94; P < 0.01). Trained subjects have significantly higher excess post-exercise oxygen consumption than sedentary subjects (P < 0.05) and greater lactate decrease during recovery (P < 0.01). Conclusion. - Between and after repetition of supramaximal individualized exercise, the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption vary according to the level of physical fitness.