Anaerobic performance capacity in athletes.

Anaerobic performance characteristics of the whole body and at muscle tissue level were studied in 89 athletes and 31 reference subjects. The main parameters were vertical velocity during running up the stairs, maximal isometric force of leg extensor muscles, blood lactate concentration after maximal treadmill running test, percentage of fast twitch muscle fibers (% FT fibers), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activity in vastus lateralis muscle. These parameters tended to divide the athletes and their sport events into neuromuscular, anaerobic and aerobic types. The specific needs of the different sport events might have masked the expected characteristics of energy and power utilization. However, a high percentage of FT fibers might be a prerequisite for a successful athlete in certain neuromuscular-anaerobic type events ("power events"). The main parameters describing the anaerobic performance capacity of the whole body (vertical velocity, leg force, blood lactate) were found to be related to muscle fiber composition (% FT fibers). The running velocity rather than muscle strength seemed to be more influenced by activity of enzymes LDH and CPK.

[1]  P. Komi,et al.  Genetic variation in neuromuscular performance , 1973, Internationale Zeitschrift für angewandte Physiologie einschließlich Arbeitsphysiologie.

[2]  A. Thorstensson,et al.  Effect of strength training on enzyme activities and fibre characteristics in human skeletal muscle. , 1976, Acta physiologica Scandinavica.

[3]  Wilhelm von Döbeln,et al.  Maximal oxygen intake, body size, and total hemoglobin in normal man. , 1957 .

[4]  R Margaria,et al.  Measurement of muscular power (anaerobic) in man. , 1966, Journal of applied physiology.

[5]  Per-Olof Åstrand,et al.  Experimental studies of physical working capacity in relation to sex and age , 1952 .

[6]  B. Saltin,et al.  Metabolic fundamentals in exercise. , 1973, Medicine and science in sports.

[7]  B. Saltin,et al.  Maximal oxygen uptake in athletes. , 1967, Journal of applied physiology.

[8]  A. Kornberg.  [67] Lactic dehydrogenase of muscle: Pyruvate + DPNH ⇄ Lactate + DPN , 1955 .

[9]  J. Durnin,et al.  The assessment of the amount of fat in the human body from measurements of skinfold thickness , 1967, British Journal of Nutrition.

[10]  O. H. Lowry,et al.  Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. , 1951, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[11]  P D Gollnick,et al.  Enzyme activity and fiber composition in skeletal muscle of untrained and trained men. , 1972, Journal of applied physiology.

[12]  N. Oldridge,et al.  The effects of alternate exposure to altitude and sea level on world-class middle-distance runners. , 1970, Medicine and science in sports.

[13]  J. Hanson.  Maximal exercise performance in members of the US Nordic Ski Team. , 1973, Journal of applied physiology.

[14]  R. Pennington.  Biochemistry of dystrophic muscle. Mitochondrial succinate-tetrazolium reductase and adenosine triphosphatase. , 1961, The Biochemical journal.

[15]  J. Holloszy.  Biochemical adaptations in muscle. Effects of exercise on mitochondrial oxygen uptake and respiratory enzyme activity in skeletal muscle. , 1967, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[16]  H. A. Padykula,et al.  THE SPECIFICITY OF THE HISTOCHEMICAL METHOD FOR ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATAS , 1955, The journal of histochemistry and cytochemistry : official journal of the Histochemistry Society.

[17]  V. Seliger,et al.  Energy expenditure and physical fitness of ice-hockey players , 2004, Internationale Zeitschrift für angewandte Physiologie einschließlich Arbeitsphysiologie.

[18]  P D Gollnick,et al.  Glycogen depletion pattern in human skeletal muscle fibers after heavy exercise. , 1973, Journal of applied physiology.

[19]  K. Piehl.  Glycogen storage and depletion in human skeletal muscle fibres. , 1974, Acta physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[20]  A. Thorstensson,et al.  Enzyme activities and muscle strength after "sprint training" in man. , 1975, Acta physiologica Scandinavica.

[21]  L. Hermansen.  Oxygen transport during exercise in human subjects. , 1973, Acta physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[22]  R. Armstrong,et al.  Effect of training on enzyme activity and fiber composition of human skeletal muscle. , 1973, Journal of applied physiology.