ABSTRACT
The objective of the present study was to assess any improvement in the IGT (Individual Glucose Threshold) of soldiers during military physical training (MPT). Nine healthy non-athlete recruits (mean weight: 66.3+/-7.9 kg; mean height: 1.77+/-0.05 cm; mean age: 18.4+/-0.5 year) were submitted to incremental ergometric test on a treadmill. The initial speed was 6.0 km.h (-1) followed by increment of 1.0 km.h (-1) every 2 min until the subject became exhausted. Between running stages, a 15 s pause allowed 5 muL of capillary blood sample to be collected from the earlobe for glucose analysis. The IGT was determined by blood glucose concentration ([Gluc]) kinetics considering the exercise intensity corresponding to the lower [Gluc] during the test. The tests were conducted in four steps: before and after exactly 30, 60, and 90 days of training. The results showed that IGT was initially detected at 9.4+/-1.8 km.h (-1) but shifted to 11.4+/-1.9, 11.2+/-2.1 and 11.9+/-1.4 at 30, 60, and 90 days of training, respectively. A significant improvement after 30 and 90 days of training (p<0.05) compared to baseline. We concluded that the IGT shifted to higher exercise intensities after MPT. Future studies examining different training modalities are required to verify our results.
