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Slow upward drift of\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) during constant-load cycling in untrained subjects

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Summary

The oxygen uptake kinetics during constant-load exercise when sitting on a bicycle ergometer were determined in 7 untrained subjects by measuring breath-by-breath\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) during continuous exercise to volitional exhaustion (mean endurance time=1160±172 s) at a pedal frequency of 70 revolutions · min−1. The power output, averaging 189,5 W, was set at 82.5% of that eliciting the individual\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2}} {\text{max}}} } \) during a 5 min incremental exercise test. Throughout the exercise period, the\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) kinetics could be appropriately described by a two-component exponential equation of the form:

$$\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } (t) = Y_a [1 - \exp ( - k_a t)] + Y_b [1 - \exp ( - k_b t)]$$

where\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) is net oxygen consumption andt the time from work onset.\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) measured at the end of exercise was close to\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2}} {\text{max}}} } \) (98%\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2}} {\text{max}}} } \)) and the mean values ofY a ,k a ,Y b andk b amounted to 1195 ml O2 · min−1, 0.034s−1, 1562 ml O2 · min−1, and 0.005 s−1 respectively. The initial rate of increase in\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) predicted from the above equation is slower than that calculated, for the same work intensity, on the basis of the data obtained by Morton (1985) in trained subjects. For t>480 s, however, the two models yield substantially equal results.

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Camus, G., Atchou, G., Bruckner, J.C. et al. Slow upward drift of\(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) during constant-load cycling in untrained subjects. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 58, 197–202 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00636626

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