Abstract
Purpose
Exercise-induced muscle damage and lowered glycogen are common during heavy training periods, and may prolong recovery. We examined the effects of lowered glycogen on cardiorespiratory, metabolic and perceptual responses to downhill running.
Methods
Twelve men performed two downhill runs (−12 % gradient, 12.1 ± 1.1 km h−1) separated by 6 weeks, under normal (NORM) and reduced glycogen (RED) conditions in a crossover design. For RED, participants performed exhaustive cycling at 60 % \(\dot{V}\)O2max power (95 ± 13 min) in the evening, and the next morning completed a downhill run comprising of five stages of 8 min running, with 2 min recovery (1 % gradient, 8 km h−1) between each stage. Expired gas, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and blood lactate (bLa) and glucose were measured for each stage.
Results
Blood glucose (P
Description
This paper reviews the relationship between eccentric muscle activation and muscle damage during downhill running.