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Oxygen uptake kinetics during moderate, heavy and severe intensity 'submaximal' exercise in humans: the influence of muscle fibre type and capillarisation

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An Erratum to this article was published on 31 March 2004

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that muscle fibre type influences the oxygen uptake (O2) on-kinetic response (primary time constant; primary and slow component amplitudes) during moderate, heavy and severe intensity sub-maximal cycle exercise. Fourteen subjects [10 males, mean (SD) age 25 (4) years; mass 72.6 (3.9) kg;O2peak 47.9 (2.3) ml kg−1 min−1] volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects underwent a muscle biopsy of the vastus lateralis for histochemical determination of muscle fibre type, and completed repeat 'square-wave' transitions from unloaded cycling to power outputs corresponding to 80% of the ventilatory threshold (VT; moderate exercise), 50% (heavy exercise) and 70% (severe exercise) of the difference between the VT andO2peak. PulmonaryO2 was measured breath-by-breath. The percentage of type I fibres was significantly correlated with the time constant of the primaryO2 response for heavy exercise (r=−0.68). Furthermore, the percentage of type I muscle fibres was significantly correlated with the gain of theO2 primary component for moderate (r=0.65), heavy (r=0.57) and severe (r=0.57) exercise, and with the relative amplitude of theO2 slow component for heavy (r=−0.74) and severe (r=−0.64) exercise. The influence of muscle fibre type on theO2 on-kinetic response persisted when differences in aerobic fitness and muscle capillarity were accounted for. This study demonstrates that muscle fibre type is significantly related to both the speed and the amplitudes of theO2 response at the onset of constant-load sub-maximal exercise. Differences in contraction efficiency and oxidative enzyme activity between type I and type II muscle fibres may be responsible for the differences observed.

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Correspondence to Andrew M. Jones.

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An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00421-004-1101-x.

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Pringle, J.S.M., Doust, J.H., Carter, H. et al. Oxygen uptake kinetics during moderate, heavy and severe intensity 'submaximal' exercise in humans: the influence of muscle fibre type and capillarisation. Eur J Appl Physiol 89, 289–300 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-003-0799-1

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