Allometry of Anaerobic Performance: A Gender Comparison

1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan M. Batterham ◽  
Karen M. Birch

Physiological variables must often be scaled for body size differences to permit meaningful comparisons between groups. Using multivariate allometric scaling (MAS), this study aimed to compare the anaerobic performance of adult males and females in 12 pairs matched for physical activity status. Peak power output (PPO) was assessed via a 30-s supramaximal cycle ergometer test. Fat-free mass (FFM) and thigh muscle and bone cross-sectional area (CSA) were determined anthropometrically and served as indicators of active musculature. The MAS revealed power functions of the form PPO = a∙genderc∙FFMb (or CSAb). Common b exponents of 0.1 were identified for both FFM and CSA (negative allometry). Sex differences were found in absolute PPO (1,252 vs. 681 W, p <.05). Comparison of scaled PPO data via ANCOVA (FFM0.1 and CSA0.1 entered as cavariates) did not eliminate the sex difference (adjusted means 1,243 vs. 690 W, p <.05). The results suggest that the superior anaerobic performance of males in this sample is independent of size of the involved musculature. Key words: allometric scaling, sex differences, peak power output, anthropometry.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 275-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Armstrong ◽  
Jo Welsman

Abstract Purpose To challenge current conventions in paediatric sport science and use data from recent longitudinal studies to elucidate the development of aerobic and anaerobic fitness, with reference to youth athletes. Methods (1) To critically review the traditional practice of ratio scaling physiological variables with body mass and, (2) to use multiplicative allometric models of longitudinal data, founded on 1053 (550 from boys) determinations of 10–17-year-olds’ peak oxygen uptake ($$ {{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{2} $$ VO 2 ) and 763 (405 from boys) determinations of 11–17-year-olds’ peak power output (PP) and mean power output (MP), to investigate the development of aerobic and anaerobic fitness in youth. Results The statistical assumptions underpinning ratio scaling of physiological variables in youth are seldom met. Multiplicative allometric modelling of longitudinal data has demonstrated that fat free mass (FFM) acting as a surrogate for active muscle mass, is the most powerful morphological influence on PP, MP, and peak $$ {{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{2} $$ VO 2 . With FFM appropriately controlled for, age effects remain significant but additional, independent effects of maturity status on anaerobic and aerobic fitness are negated. Conclusions Ratio scaling of physiological variables with body mass is fallacious, confounds interpretation of the development of anaerobic and aerobic fitness, and misleads fitness comparisons within and across youth sports. Rigorous evaluation of the development of anaerobic and aerobic fitness in youth requires longitudinal analyses of sex-specific, concurrent changes in age- and maturation-driven morphological covariates. Age and maturation-driven changes in FFM are essential considerations when evaluating the physiological development of youth athletes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhaí André Arriel ◽  
Juliana Alves Graudo ◽  
Jorge Luiz Duarte de Oliveira ◽  
Guilherme Guedes Silva Ribeiro ◽  
Anderson Meireles ◽  
...  

1983 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. McCartney ◽  
G. J. Heigenhauser ◽  
N. L. Jones

We studied maximal torque-velocity relationships and fatigue during short-term maximal exercise on a constant velocity cycle ergometer in 13 healthy male subjects. Maximum torque showed an inverse linear relationship to crank velocity between 60 and 160 rpm, and a direct relationship to thigh muscle volume measured by computerized tomography. Peak torque per liter thigh muscle volume (PT, N X ml-1) was related to crank velocity (CV, rpm) in the following equation: PT = 61.7 - 0.234 CV (r = 0.99). Peak power output was a parabolic function of crank velocity in individual subjects, but maximal power output was achieved at varying crank velocities in different subjects. Fiber type distribution was measured in the two subjects showing the greatest differences and demonstrated that a high proportion of type II fibers may be one factor associated with a high crank velocity for maximal power output. The decline in average power during 30 s of maximal effort was least at 60 rpm (23.7 +/- 4.6% of initial maximal power) and greatest at 140 rpm (58.7 +/- 6.5%). At 60 rpm the decline in power over 30 s was inversely related to maximal oxygen uptake (ml X min-1 X kg-1) (r = 0.69). Total work performed and plasma lactate concentration 3 min after completion of 30-s maximum effort were similar for each crank velocity.


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Carriker ◽  
Phillip Armentrout ◽  
Sarah Levine ◽  
James Smoliga

Introduction: Previous studies have examined dietary nitrate supplementation and its effects on dry static apnea, and peak power. Dietary nitrate supplementation has been found to increase maximal apnea and peak power output. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of beetroot juice on dry static apnea and Wingate performance. Hypothesis: Dietary nitrate will improve maximal breath hold time and peak power output. Dietary nitrate will improve tolerance to CO2, thereby improving maximal breath hold time and anaerobic capacity. Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, counterbalanced study, five healthy males (20.4±0.89 years) visited the lab on 3 separate occasions each separated by one week. Visit 1 served as a Wingate and breath hold familiarization visit. Prior to visits 2 and 3 participants were instructed to drink a beverage either a placebo (negligible nitrate content, PL) or dietary nitrate rich beverage (12.4 mmol nitrate, NIT) during the 4 days leading up to their next visit. Visits 2 and 3 consisted of two submaximal breath holds (80% of maximal determined during visit 1), with 2 minutes of rest between and three minutes of rest preceding the final breath hold for maximal duration. Finally, participants completed a standardized 10-minute warmup on the cycle ergometer before completing a 30-second maximal effort Wingate test. Results: A linear mixed effects model was used to determine whether treatment (NIT vs. PL) was associated with differences in VCO2 or PetCO2. Time (0, 10, 20, 30 min post-breath hold) and Treatment both served as repeated measures. Models were developed using multiple repeated measures covariance matrix structures, and the model with the lowest AIC was chosen as the final model. The interaction between time and treatment was included in the original models, and was removed if it was not statistically significant. Time was a statistically significant factor for VCO2 and PetCO2 (p < 0.001). Treatment, and the Time x Treatment interaction was not significant for either variable. No differences between NIT and PL were observed during the Wingate test for either time to peak power (5.02±2.45 and 6.2±2.43 sec, respectively) or maximal power (9.73±1.01 and 9.72±1.03 watts/kg, respectively) and fatigue index (49.42±14.98 and 47.30±6.99 watts/sec, respectively). Conclusion: Preliminary data indicates that in a general population four days of dietary nitrate supplementation may not improve breath hold time, tolerance to carbon dioxide in the lungs, or Wingate performance.


1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (2) ◽  
pp. C676-C683 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Widrick ◽  
S. W. Trappe ◽  
D. L. Costill ◽  
R. H. Fitts

Gastrocnemius muscle fiber bundles were obtained by needle biopsy from five middle-aged sedentary men (SED group) and six age-matched endurance-trained master runners (RUN group). A single chemically permeabilized fiber segment was mounted between a force transducer and a position motor, subjected to a series of isotonic contractions at maximal Ca2+ activation (15 degrees C), and subsequently run on a 5% polyacrylamide gel to determine myosin heavy chain composition. The Hill equation was fit to the data obtained for each individual fiber (r2 > or = 0.98). For the SED group, fiber force-velocity parameters varied (P < 0.05) with fiber myosin heavy chain expression as follows: peak force, no differences: peak tension (force/fiber cross-sectional area), type IIx > type IIa > type I; maximal shortening velocity (Vmax, defined as y-intercept of force-velocity relationship), type IIx = type IIa > type I; a/Pzero (where a is a constant with dimensions of force and Pzero is peak isometric force), type IIx > type IIa > type I. Consequently, type IIx fibers produced twice as much peak power as type IIa fibers, whereas type IIa fibers produced about five times more peak power than type I fibers. RUN type I and IIa fibers were smaller in diameter and produced less peak force than SED type I and IIa fibers. The absolute peak power output of RUN type I and IIa fibers was 13 and 27% less, respectively, than peak power of similarly typed SED fibers. However, type I and IIa Vmax and a/Pzero were not different between the SED and RUN groups, and RUN type I and IIa power deficits disappeared after power was normalized for differences in fiber diameter. Thus the reduced absolute peak power output of the type I and IIa fibers from the master runners was a result of the smaller diameter of these fibers and a corresponding reduction in their peak isometric force production. This impairment in absolute peak power production at the single fiber level may be in part responsible for the reduced in vivo power output previously observed for endurance-trained athletes.


1994 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 1403-1410 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Callister ◽  
A. V. Ng ◽  
D. R. Seals

We tested the hypothesis that sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerve activity to nonactive skeletal muscle (MSNA) decreases immediately before and remains suppressed during initiation of conventional large muscle upright dynamic exercise in humans. In 11 healthy young subjects, adequate recordings of MSNA from the radial nerve in the arm were obtained during upright seated rest (control) and throughout 1 min of leg-cycling exercise at one or more submaximal workloads (range 33–266 W; approximately 10–80% of peak power output). MSNA was analyzed during four consecutive time intervals; control, preparation for cycling (end of control to onset of pedal movement), initiation of cycling (onset of pedal movement to attainment of target power output), and the initial 60 s of cycling at target power output. MSNA decreased (P < 0.05) abruptly and markedly in all subjects [to 19 +/- 4% (SE) of control levels] during the preparation period before the 33-W load and remained suppressed throughout the period of initiation of cycling in 8 of 11 subjects; MSNA increased during the initiation period in three subjects in whom diastolic arterial pressure fell below control levels. This general pattern was observed at all loads. MSNA remained at or below control levels throughout the 1 min of cycling exercise at 33–166 W. MSNA increased above control levels during the latter portion of the 1 min of cycling only at loads > or = 60% of peak power output.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 2919-2925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Metikos ◽  
Pavle Mikulic ◽  
Nejc Sarabon ◽  
Goran Markovic

1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 2343-2348 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Williams ◽  
W. S. Barnes ◽  
J. F. Signorile

A constant-load cycle ergometer was constructed that allows maximal power output to be measured for each one-half pedal revolution during brief, high-intensity exercise. To determine frictional force, an electronic load cell was attached to the resistance strap and the ergometer frame. Dead weights were attached to the strap's free end. Flywheel velocity was recorded by means of a magnetic switch and two magnets placed on the pedal sprocket. Pedaling resulted in magnetically activated switch closures, which produced two electronic pulses per pedal revolution. Pulses and load cell output were recorded (512 Hz), digitized, and stored on disk via microcomputer. Power output was later computed for each pair of adjacent pulses, representing average power per one-half pedal revolution. Power curves generated for each subject were analyzed for peak power output (the highest one-half pedal revolution average), time to peak power, power fatigue rate and index, average power, and total work. Thirty-eight males performed two 15-s tests separated by 15 min (n = 16) or 48 h (n = 22). Peak power output ranged from 846.0 to 1,289.1 W. Intraclass correlation analysis revealed high test-retest reliability for all parameters recorded on the same or different days (R = 0.91-0.97). No significant differences (P greater than 0.05) were noted between parameter means of the first and second tests. These results indicate that the ergometer described provides a means for conveniently and reliably assessing short-term power output and fatigue.


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