Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of age and mode of exercise on power output profiles during repeated sprints

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Applied Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare power output profiles during repeated cycling and running sprints in children and adults. On two separate visits, 12 boys [11.7 (0.5) years] and 13 men [22.1 (2.9) years] performed ten consecutive 10-s sprints interspersed with 15-s recovery intervals on a non-motorised treadmill and cycle ergometer. Peak (PPO) and mean (MPO) power outputs were measured during each sprint. Capillary fingertip blood samples were drawn at rest and 3 min after the final sprint to measure lactate accumulation (Δ[La]). PPO and MPO decreased significantly more in adults compared to children over the ten sprints irrespective of the mode of exercise (P<0.001). PPO decreased by a similar amount during running and cycling in children (−17.7 versus −14.3%, P>0.05, respectively) and adults (−43.3 versus −40.0%, P>0.05, respectively). In contrast, MPO decreased significantly more during running compared to cycling both in children (−28.9 versus −18.7%, P<0.05) and adults (−47.0 versus −36.7%, P<0.05). The greater decrease in MPO during running compared to cycling was accompanied in children by significantly higher Δ[La] values (7.7 versus 4.1 mmol l−1, P<0.001). In adults, blood lactate accumulation tended to be higher during running than cycling (12.7 versus 10.8 mmol l−1, P=0.06). To conclude, adults displayed a greater decrement in power output compared to children over the ten repeated running and cycling sprints. Furthermore, children and adults experienced greater fatigue during running compared to cycling. This last result may be attributed to additional muscle recruitment during sprint running.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bogdanis GC, Nevill ME, Boobis LH, Lakomy HKA, Nevill AM (1995) Recovery of power output and muscle metabolites following 30 s of maximal sprint cycling in man. J Physiol (Lond) 482:467–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogdanis GC, Nevill ME, Boobis LH, Lakomy HKA (1996) Contribution of phosphocreatine and aerobic metabolism to energy supply during repeated sprint exercise. J Appl Physiol 80:876–884

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks S, Nevill ME, Meleagros L, Lakomy HKA, Hall GM, Bloom SR, Williams C (1990) The hormonal responses to repetitive brief maximal exercise in humans. Eur J Appl Physiol 60:144–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Chia M, Armstrong N, Childs D (1997) The assessment of children’s anaerobic performance using modifications of the Wingate anaerobic test. Pediatr Exerc Sci 9:80–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Colliander EB, Dudley GA, Tesch PA (1988) Skeletal muscle fiber type composition and performance during repeated bouts of maximal, concentric contractions. Eur J Appl Physiol 58:81–86

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doré E, Bedu M, França NM, Diallo O, Duché P, Praagh E van (2000a) Testing peak performance: effect of braking force during growth. Med Sci Sports Exerc 32:493–498

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doré E, Diallo O, França NM, Bedu M, Praagh E van (2000b) Dimensional changes cannot account for all differences in short-term cycling power during growth. Int J Sports Med 21:360–365

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Doré E, Duché P, Rouffet D, Ratel S, Bedu M, Praagh E van (2003) Measurement error in short-term power testing in young people. J Sports Sci 21:135–142

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson BO, Karlsson J, Saltin B (1971) Muscles metabolites during exercise in pubertal boys. Acta Paediatr Scand 217:154–157

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Falk B, Weinstein Y, Dotan R, Abramson DA, Mann-Segal D, Hoffman JR (1996) A treadmill test of sprint running. Scand J Med Sci Sports 6:259–264

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fargeas MA, Praagh E van, Pantelidis D, Léger L, Fellmann N, Coudert J (1993) Comparison of cycling and running power outputs in trained children. Pediatr Exerc Sci 5:415

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaitanos GC, Williams C, Boobis LH, Brooks S (1993) Human muscle metabolism during intermittent maximal exercise. J Appl Physiol 75:712–719

    Google Scholar 

  • Glenmark B, Hedberg G, Kaijser L, Jansson E (1994) Muscle strength from adolescence to adulthood-relationship to muscle fibre types. Eur J Appl Physiol 68:9–19

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton AL, Nevill ME, Brooks S, Williams C (1991) Physiological responses to maximal intermittent exercise: differences between endurance trained runners and games players. J Sports Sci 9:371–382

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holmyard DJ, Cheetham ME, Lakomy HKA, Williams C (1988) Effect of recovery duration on performance during multiple treadmill sprints. In: Reilly T, Lees A, Davids K, Murphy WG (eds) Proceedings of the First World Congress on Science and Football. Spon, London, pp 134–142

  • Jaskόlska A, Goossens P, Veenstra B, Jaskόlski A, Skinner JS (1999) Comparison of treadmill and cycle ergometer measurements of force-velocity relationships and power output. Int J Sports Med 20:192–197

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jones DA, Pearson J (1969) Anthropometric determination of leg fat and muscle plus bone volumes in young males and female adults. J Physiol (Lond) 204:63–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Lakomy HKA (1987) The use of a non-motorised treadmill for analysing sprint performance. Ergonomics 30:627–637

    Google Scholar 

  • Praagh E van, Doré E (2002) Short-term muscle power during growth and maturation. Sports Med 32:701–728

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Praagh E van, Fargeas MA, Léger L, Fellmann N, Coudert J (1993) Short-term power output in children measured on a computerised treadmill ergometer. Pediatr Exerc Sci 5:482

    Google Scholar 

  • Ratel S, Bedu M, Hennegrave A, Doré E, Duché P (2002a) Effects of age and recovery duration on peak power output during repeated cycling sprints. Int J Sports Med 23:397–402

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ratel S, Duché P, Hennegrave A, Praagh E van, Bedu M (2002b) Acid-base balance during repeated cycling sprints in boys and men. J Appl Physiol 92:479–485

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ratel S, Lazaar N, Williams CA, Bedu M, Duché P (2003) Age differences in human skeletal muscle fatigue during high-intensity intermittent exercise. Acta Paediatr 92:1248–1254

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sale DG (1989) Strength training in children. In: Gisolfi CV, Lamb DR (eds) Perspectives in exercise science and sports medicine, 2. Youth, exercise and sport. Benchmark Press, Indianapolis, pp 165–222

  • Slaughter ME, Lohman TG, Boileau RA, Horswill CA, Stillman RJ, Loan MD van, Bemben DA (1988) Skinfold equations for estimation of body fatness in children and youth. Hum Biol 60:709–723

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton NC, Childs DJ, Bar-Or O, Armstrong N (2000) A nonmotorized treadmill test to assess children’s short-term power output. Pediatr Exerc Sci 12:91–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor DJ, Kemp GJ, Thompson CH, Radda GK (1997) Ageing: effects on oxidative function of skeletal muscle in vivo. Mol Cell Biochem 174:321–324

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams JG, Eston RG, Furlong B (1994) CERT: a perceived exertion scale for young children. Percept Mot Skills 79:1451–1458

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wootton SA, Williams C (1983) The influence of recovery duration on repeated maximal sprints. In: Knuttgen HG, Vogel JA, Poortmans J (eds) Biochemistry of exercise V. Human Kinetics, Champaign, Ill., pp 269–273

  • Yamada H, Kaneko K, Masuda T (2002) Effects of voluntary activation on neuromuscular endurance analysed by surface electromyography. Percept Mot Skills 95:613–619

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yanagiya T, Kanehisa H, Kouzaki M, Kawakami Y, Fukunaga T (2003) Effect of gender on mechanical power output during repeated bouts of maximal running in trained teenagers. Int J Sports Med 24:304–310

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge David Childs for his expert technical assistance. Additionally, appreciation is given to the participants for their patience, time and effort.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children’s Health and Exercise Research Centre, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, UK

    Sébastien Ratel, Craig A. Williams, Jonathan Oliver & Neil Armstrong

  2. 28 rue Kessler, 63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France

    Sébastien Ratel

Authors
  1. Sébastien Ratel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Craig A. Williams
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jonathan Oliver
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Neil Armstrong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sébastien Ratel.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ratel, S., Williams, C.A., Oliver, J. et al. Effects of age and mode of exercise on power output profiles during repeated sprints. Eur J Appl Physiol 92, 204–210 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-004-1081-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-004-1081-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation