No reserve in isokinetic cycling power at intolerance during ramp incremental exercise in endurance-trained men

During whole body exercise in health, maximal oxygen uptake (V̇o2max) is typically attained at or immediately before the limit of tolerance (LoT). At the V̇o2max and LoT of incremental exercise, a fundamental, but unresolved, question is whether maximal evocable power can be increased above the task requirement, i.e., whether there is a “power reserve” at the LoT. Using an instantaneous switch from cadence-independent (hyperbolic) to isokinetic cycle ergometry, we determined maximal evocable power at the limit of ramp-incremental exercise. We hypothesized that in endurance-trained men at LoT, maximal (4 s) isokinetic power would not differ from the power required by the task. Baseline isokinetic power at 80 rpm (Piso; measured at the pedals) and summed integrated EMG from five leg muscles (ΣiEMG) were measured in 12 endurance-trained men (V̇o2max = 4.2 ± 1.0 l/min). Participants then completed a ramp incremental exercise test (20-25 W/min), with instantaneous measurement of Piso and ΣiEMG at the LoT. Piso decreased from 788 ± 103 W at baseline to 391 ± 72 W at LoT, which was not different from the required ramp-incremental flywheel power (352 ± 58 W; P > 0.05). At LoT, the relative reduction in Piso was greater than the relative reduction in the isokinetic ΣiEMG (50 ± 9 vs. 63 ± 10% of baseline; P < 0.05). During maximal ramp incremental exercise in endurance-trained men, maximum voluntary power is not different from the power required by the task and is consequent to both central and peripheral limitations in evocable power. The absence of a power reserve suggests both the perceptual and physiological limits of maximum voluntary power production are not widely dissociated at LoT in this population.