Abstract
The focus of the present study was to investigate the effects of a fast-start pacing strategy on running performance and pulmonary oxygen uptake () kinetics at the upper boundary of the severe-intensity domain. Eleven active male participants (28±10 years, 70±5 kg, 176±6 cm, 57±4 mL/kg/min) visited the laboratory for a series of tests that were performed until exhaustion: 1) an incremental test; 2) three laboratory test sessions performed at 95, 100 and 110% of the maximal aerobic speed; 3) two to four constant speed tests for the determination of the highest constant speed (HS) that still allowed achieving maximal oxygen uptake; and 4) an exercise based on the HS using a higher initial speed followed by a subsequent decrease. To predict equalized performance values for the constant pace, the relationship between time and distance/speed through log-log modelling was used. When a fast-start was utilized, subjects were able to cover a greater distance in a performance of similar duration in comparison with a constant-pace performance (constant pace: 670 m±22%; fast-start: 683 m±22%; P = 0.029); subjects also demonstrated a higher exercise tolerance at a similar average speed when compared with constant-pace performance (constant pace: 114 s±30%; fast-start: 125 s±26%; P = 0.037). Moreover, the mean response time was reduced after a fast start (constant pace: 22.2 s±28%; fast-start: 19.3 s±29%; P = 0.025). In conclusion, middle-distance running performances with a duration of 2–3 min are improved and response time is faster when a fast-start is adopted.
Citation: Turnes T, Salvador AF, Lisbôa FD, de Aguiar RA, Cruz RSdO, Caputo F (2014) A Fast-Start Pacing Strategy Speeds Pulmonary Oxygen Uptake Kinetics and Improves Supramaximal Running Performance. PLoS ONE 9(10):
e111621.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111621
Editor: Maria F. Piacentini, University of Rome, Italy
Received: June 5, 2014; Accepted: October 6, 2014; Published: October 31, 2014
Copyright: © 2014 Turnes et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability: The authors confirm that all data underlying the findings are fully available without restriction. All relevant data are within the paper.
Funding: This project was supported by National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). Website: (www.cnpq.br). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Description
This study examines how a fast-start pacing strategy affects running performance and oxygen uptake.