[Final blood lactate concentration after incremental test and aerobic performance].

The aim of the study was to check the hypothesis that elite endurance athletes (junior and national team) show the decreased final blood lactate concentration after incremental test till exhaustion with increased aerobic performance level. 20 physical active men and 45 elite middle and long distance endurance athletes (speed skaters, triathletes, cross country skiers) participated in the study. Significant negative correlations (r = -0.59--0.87) were found between final blood lactate concentration after incremental test till exhaustion and aerobic performance (anaerobic threshold (AT)) for athletes groups and not for physically active subjects. Moreover the less final blood lactate concentration and more VO2 at AT have elite speed skates, the higher volume of type I muscle fibers in working muscle they have (r = -0.84 and r = 0.7, accordingly).

[Physiological effects of using the low intensity strength training without relaxation in single-joint and multi-joint movements].

The effects of classical strength training (CT) and low intensity strength training without relaxation (TwR) upon size, strength and fatigability of leg muscles in men were compared. A 8-10-week strength training led to an increase of size and maximal voluntary contraction of trained muscles. After the CT, the increment of strength was higher; on the other hand, strength increments related to total work performed increased after the TwR noticeably higher than after the CT. Two training programs influenced the size of total muscle and of muscle fibers (MF) differently: the volume of m. quadriceps femoris increased more after the CT than after the TwR. The CT induced a significant increase of cross sectional area (CSA) of fast MF, and the TwR induced an increase of CSA of slow MF. Resistance to fatigue after the TwR was higher than after the. The effects of TwR were more pronounced in single-joint movements training than in multi-joint movement.

[Creatine as a metabolic controller of skeletal muscles structure and function in strength exercises in humans. The cellular mechanisms].

The effects of creatine oral supplementation combined with a 10-week resistive training of morphometric, contractile and molecular characteristics of human vast lateral muscle fibers were studied. 2 groups consisting of 9 young healthy men each were involved in resistive training of knee extensors for 10 weeks. Volunteers of the first group received per os 20 g of creatine for the 1st week of training and 5 g for the rest of the experimental training period. We found a significant increase of slow and fast-twitch fiber size in both trained groups and a significant increase of Ca-sensitivity of skinned single fiber contractility in creatine-supplemented group. The serum creatine phosphokinase activity in blood samples taken 24 hours after exercise session increased in all stages of the experimental training in both groups. At the same time, the adaptive decrease of the after-exercise CK concentration was observed in the placebo but not in the creatine-supplemented group. The altered integrity of the subsarcolemmal dystrophin layer was revealed in both groups after training.

[Human soleus fibers contractile characteristics and sarcomeric cytoskeletal proteins after gravitational unloading. Contribution of support stimulus]. / Sokratitel'nye kharakteristiki i belki sarkomernogo tsitoskeleta volokon m. soleus cheloveka v usloviiakh gravitatsionnoi razgruzki. Rol' opornogo stimula.

The effects of support withdrawal and support stimulation on the contractile characteristics of human soleus fibers and cellular factors which influence them were studied. The experimental model of the "dry" head-out water immersion was used in the study. In this model, the hydrostatic pressure on different sites of the body surface are equal so that the experimental conditions are close to the complete supportlessness. A 7-day exposure to dry immersion resulted in a decrease in the maximal isometric tension of the skinned fibers, a decline in the myofibrillar Ca2+-sensitivity, and the relative loss of the titin and nebulin content. A significant decrease in the percentage of fibers containing slow myosin heavy chains was also observed after dry immersion. The application of the mechanical stimulator influencing the plantar support zones with a pressure of 0.2 +/- 0.15 kg/cm2 6 times a day for 20 minutes of each hour brought about a complete prevention of the above listed effects of dry immersion. The data obtained allow one to conclude that the decline in maximal tension and Ca2+-sensitivity as well as myosin shift and loss of sarcomeric cytoskeletal proteins are associated with the support withdrawal during the exposure to dry immersion.