High-intensity interval training alters ATP pathway flux during maximal muscle contractions in humans.

AIM: High-intensity interval training (HIT) results in potent metabolic adaptations in skeletal muscle; however, little is known about the influence of these adaptations on energetics in vivo. We used magnetic resonance spectroscopy to examine the effects of HIT on ATP synthesis from net PCr breakdown (ATPCK ), oxidative phosphorylation (ATPOX ) and non-oxidative glycolysis (ATPGLY ) in vivo in vastus lateralis during a 24-s maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). METHODS: Eight young men performed 6 sessions of repeated, 30-s 'all-out' sprints on a cycle ergometer; measures of muscle energetics were obtained at baseline and after the first and sixth sessions. RESULTS: Training increased peak oxygen consumption (35.8 ± 1.4 to 39.3 ± 1.6 mL min(-1) kg(-1) , P = 0.01) and exercise capacity (217.0 ± 11.0 to 230.5 ± 11.7 W, P = 0.04) on the ergometer, with no effects on total ATP production or force-time integral during the MVC. While ATP production by each pathway was unchanged after the first session, 6 sessions increased the relative contribution of ATPOX (from 31 ± 2 to 39 ± 2% of total ATP turnover, P < 0.001) and lowered the relative contribution from both ATPCK (49 ± 2 to 44 ± 1%, P = 0.004) and ATPGLY (20 ± 2 to 17 ± 1%, P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: These alterations to muscle ATP production in vivo indicate that brief, maximal contractions are performed with increased support of oxidative ATP synthesis and relatively less contribution from anaerobic ATP production following training. These results extend previous reports of molecular and cellular adaptations to HIT and show that 6 training sessions are sufficient to alter in vivo muscle energetics, which likely contributes to increased exercise capacity after short-term HIT.

Biochemical adaptations to training: implications for resisting muscle fatigue.

Skeletal muscle activity is invariably associated with a decline in force-generating capacity (fatigue). The build-up of metabolic by-products such as intracellular H+ and inorganic phosphate (Pi) has been shown to be one of the potential mechanisms of muscle fatigue. The use of phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a repeatable and useful tool to study the effect of pH and Pi on force development. When maximal exercise is preceded by submaximal exercise to reduce the starting muscle pH and increase Pi, the degree of muscle fatigue correlates more strongly with H2PO4- than pH or Pi alone. However, other studies in humans have found that H2PO4- does not always correlate well with fatigue. The use of ramp exercise protocols allow repeatable and sensitive measurement of changes in muscle metabolism in response to endurance training. Chronic electrical stimulation in dogs and endurance training in humans results in reduced pH and Pi changes at the same exercise intensities. This means that the effect of pH and Pi in depressing force development is reduced, which could partially explain the increased fatigue resistance seen following endurance training.

Muscle injury and exercise stress measured with 31-P magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

In conclusion, MRS is a noninvasive method of measuring high energy compounds in resting and exercising human muscle. We found that high levels of work were required to detect significant differences in muscle metabolism. Large variations were seen between control subjects. Endurance athletes had muscles with better oxidative metabolism than the control subjects. By looking carefully at resting metabolism we were able to detect and monitor the level of exercise-induced muscle injury. Finally we were able monitor in a temporal manner changes in muscle metabolism which occur with endurance training and detraining in control subjects.

Application of 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy to the study of athletic performance.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a non-invasive and repeatable method of studying muscle metabolism. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy uses specific radiofrequency pulses in a strong magnetic field to determine the relative concentrations of chemical compounds in the sample. 31P Magnetic resonance spectroscopy provides indirect measures of phosphate compounds such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), phosphocreatine and inorganic phosphate. Muscle intracellular pH can also be determined. Exercise tests can be performed in the magnet such that the metabolic response to steady-state exercise can be measured. The ratio of inorganic phosphate to phosphocreatine reflects the relative metabolic rate of mitochondrial respiration (V) and the extrapolated maximum capacity of oxidative metabolism (Vm). Normal humans vary considerably in their metabolic response to exercise. These differences are reflected in their Vms and the degree of acidosis during exercise. Active muscles in endurance trained athletes have higher Vms and faster recovery rates than normal controls. Preliminary studies have been done to assess muscle glycolytic capacity by measuring the degree of acidosis during ischaemic exercise. Exercise-induced muscle injury can be detected as an increased inorganic phosphate to phosphocreatine ratio in resting muscle. The increase in the inorganic phosphate to phosphocreatine ratio with injury reaches a peak 1 to 2 days after the injury and lasts for up to a week. Similar increases in the inorganic phosphate to phosphocreatine ratio occur in patients with destructive neuromuscular diseases. Thus changes in the resting inorganic phosphate to phosphocreatine ratio may be used to detect the degree of muscle injury following exercise. Levels of H2PO4- in muscle are thought to be important in causing muscle fatigue during exercise. As 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy can measure H2PO4-, magnetic resonance spectroscopy has become a useful technique in the study of the metabolic causes of muscle fatigue. It may also be possible to identify the relative populations of fast twitch and slow twitch fibres in a skeletal muscle using pH changes measured with 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy using other nuclei, such as 1H, 13C and 23Na, have the potential to provide information on other metabolic changes which occur with exercise. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy has shown promise as a technique to monitor the effects of training, including overtraining, in specific muscle groups in athletes.

Environmental continuity: a social-geographic approach to structural change in lowering health care cost through elderly participation.

Tremendous growth in the number of elderly has resulted in the need to consider options for decreasing their need for dependent living, while increasing their level of health. Environmental continuity is supported as one such alternative. An examination of how the elderly relate to their surroundings and their relationships with others enables the identification of social and cultural thresholds beyond which the elderly cannot be expected to predict, participate in, or control events in their environment. "Threshold management" is suggested as a preventive health measure for reducing social disintegration in the elderly and concomitant strains to the health care system and society.