The effect of one-legged sprint training on intramuscular pH and nonbicarbonate buffering capacity

Abstract

To determine the effect of one-legged sprint training on muscle pH and nonbicarbonate buffering capacity (BC), 9 subjects completed 15 to 20 intervals at 90 RPM, 4 days a week for 7 weeks on a bicycle ergometer adapted for one-legged pedaling. Needle biopsies from the vastus lateralis and blood samples from an antecubital vein were taken at rest and twice during recovery (1 and 4 minutes) from a 60 s one-legged maximal power test on a cycle ergometer. pH one minute after exercise in both the trained and untrained legs following the training period was not different but both were higher than before training. BC increased from 49.9 to 57.8 μmol HCl×g⁻¹×pH⁻¹ after training (p<0.05). Blood lactate levels after exercise were significantly higher for the trained leg when compared to the untrained leg after sprint training. Peak and average power output on the 60 s power test increased significantly after training. One-legged aerobic power ( \(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2}} {\text{max}}} } \) ) significantly increased in the untrained and trained legs. Two-legged \(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2}} {\text{max}}} } \) also improved significantly after training. These data suggest that nonbicarbonate buffering capacity and power output can be enhanced with one-legged sprint training. Also, small but significant improvements in \(\dot V_{{\text{O}}_{{\text{2}} {\text{max}}} } \) were also observed.