Abstract
Introduction Substantial research exists detailing the oxygen kinetics, blood lactate responses, and the effect of warm ups on subsequent exercise performance but very few studies attempt to combine these variables. Recent research has demonstrated relationships among these variables in cyclists, eliciting significant performance gains. However the majority of research in this area is often performed on cyclists, not runners. Therefore, the purpose of the current investigation was to examine the effect of a moderate and high intensity warm ups on the physiological responses related to oxygen use, blood lactate and perceptions of exertion in trained runners during time to exhaustion tests at VO2 max. Methods Ten (one female) healthy, well trained subjects volunteered to participate in this study. Each subject completed five visits with at least 48 hours between. The first two visits were baseline VO2 max testing and submaximal testing to determine warm up intensities and theoretical oxygen costs. The third through fifth visits were a randomization of three different 6 minute warm up conditions: a control condition with no warm up, a moderate intensity warm up at GET, and a high intensity warm up at 70%Δ followed by a 20 minute recovery and a time to exhaustion trial (TTE) conducted at VO2 max. All subjects kept a diet and exercise log for the three days leading up to each visit. Expired gases were collected continuously, while HR and RPE were collected every minute during TTE. Blood lactate was collected immediately post warm up, and pre and post TTE. Results Mean TTE was significantly increased by 21% (287.7 ± 56.5 s v. 236.7 ± 64.9 s, P < 0.05) in the moderate intensity group over the control, but the change in TTE in the high intensity group was not significant (270.5 ± 46.3 s). The intervention had no significant effect on oxygen uptake, accumulated oxygen deficit or ratings of perceived exertion. Conclusions A moderate intensity warm up was effective in significantly increasing TTE at VO2 max in well trained competitive runners. Despite the improved exercise tolerance, there was no significant change in the measured physiological variables regardless of the condition. More research focusing on neurological aspects such as perception and motor drive is warranted to better understand the beneficial aspects of warming up.