Summary
Muscle force recovery from short term intense exercise was examined in 16 physically active men. They performed 50 consecutive maximal voluntary knee extensions. Following a 40-s rest period five additional maximal contractions were executed. The decrease in torque during the 50 contractions and the peak torque during the five contractions relative to initial torque were used as indices for fatigue and recovery, respectively. Venous blood samples were collected repeatedly up to 8 min post exercise for subsequent lactate analyses. Muscle biopsies were obtained from m. vastus lateralis and analysed for fiber type composition, fiber area, and capillary density.
Peak torque decreased 67 (range 47–82%) as a result of the repeated contractions. Following recovery, peak torque averaged 70 (47–86%) of the initial value.
Lactate concentration after the 50 contractions was 2.9±1.3 mmol·l−1 and the peak post exercise value averaged 8.7±2.1 mmol·l−1. Fatigue and recovery respectively were correlated with capillary density (r=−0.71 and 0.69) but not with fiber type distribution. A relationship was demonstrated between capillary density and post exercise/peak post exercise blood lactate concentration (r=0.64). Based on the present findings it is suggested that lactate elimination from the exercising muscle is partly dependent upon the capillary supply and subsequently influences the rate of muscle force recovery.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Andersen P, Henriksson J (1977) Capillary supply of the quadriceps femoris muscle of man: adaptive response to exercise. J Physiol 270: 677–690
Baldwin KM, Tipton CM (1972) Work and metabolic patterns of fast and slow twitch skeletal muscle contracting in situ. Pflügers Arch 334: 345–356
Beatty CH, Peterson RD, Bocek RM (1963) Metabolism of red and white muscle fiber groups. Am J Physiol 204: 939–942
Bergström J (1962) Muscle electrolytes in man. Scand J Clin Lab Invest [Suppl] 68
Brodal P, Ingjer F, Hermansen L (1977) Capillary supply of skeletal muscle fibers in untrained and endurance-trained men. Am J Physiol 232: H705-H712
Coyle EF, Costill DL, Lesmes GR (1979) Leg extension power and muscle fiber composition. Med Sci Sports 11: 12–15
Folkow B, Halicka HD (1968) A comparison between “red” and “white” muscle with respect to blood supply, capillary surface area and oxygen uptake during rest and exercise. Microvasc Res 1: 1–14
Gregor RJ, Edgerton VR, Perrine JJ, Campion DS, Debus C (1979) Torque-velocity relationships and muscle fiber composition in elite female athletes. J Appl Physiol 47: 388–392
HÄggmark T, Jansson E, Svane B (1978) Cross-sectional area of the thigh muscle in man measured by computed tomography. Scand J Clin Lab Invest 38: 355–360
Hudlická O (1982) Growth of capillaries in skeletal and cardiac muscle. Circ Res 50: 451–461
Ikai M, Fukunaga T (1968) Calculation of muscle strength per unit cross-sectional area of human muscle by means of ultrasonic measurement. Int Z angew Physiol Einschl Arbeitsphysiol 26: 26–32
Ivy JL, Sherman WM, Miller JM, Maxwell BD, Costill DL (1982) Relationship between muscle \(\dot Q\)O2 and fatigue during repeated isokinetic contractions. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 53: 470–474
Jorfeldt L, Juhlin-Dannfelt A, Karlsson J (1978) Lactate release in relation to tissue lactate in human skeletal muscle during exercise. J Appl Physiol: Respirat Environ Exercise Physiol 44: 350–352
Karlsson J (1979) Localized muscular fatigue: Role of muscle metabolism and substrate depletion. In: Hutton RS, Miller DI (eds). Exercise Sport Sci Rev 7. Franklin Institute Press, Philadelphia, pp 1–42
Komi PV, Tesch P (1979) EMG frequency spectrum, muscle structure, and fatigue during dynamic contractions in man. Eur J Appl Physiol 42: 41–50
Kugelberg E, Edström L (1968) Differential histochemical effects of muscle contractions on phosphorylase and glycogen in various types of fibres: relation to fatigue. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 31: 415–423
Kugelberg E, Lindegren B (1979) Transmission and contraction fatigue of rat motor units in relation to succinate dehydrogenase activity of motor unit fibres. J Physiol 288: 285–300
Nakamura Y, Schwartz A (1972) The influence of hydrogen ion concentration on calcium binding and release by skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum. J Gen Physiol 59: 22–32
Nassar-Gentina V, Passonneau JV, Vergara JL, Rapoport SI (1978) Metabolic correlates of fatigue and of recovery from fatigue in single frog muscle fibers. J Gen Physiol 72: 593–606
Nilsson J, Tesch P, Thorstensson á (1977) Fatigue and EMG of repeated fast voluntary contractions in man. Acta Physiol Scand 101: 194–198
Novikoff AB, Shin WY, Drucker J (1961) Mitochondrial localization of oxidative enzymes: staining results with two tetrazolium salts. J Biophys Biochem Cytol 9: 47–61
Padykula HA, Herman E (1955) The specificity of the histochemical method for adenosine triphosphatase. J Histochem Cytochem 3: 170–195
Robertson SP, Kerrick WGL (1979) The effects of pH on Ca2+-activated force in frog skeletal muscle fibers. Pflügers Arch 380: 41–45
Sigma Technical Bulletin 826 (1968) Sigma Chemical Co, St Louis MO
Simonson E (1971) Physiology of work capacity and fatigue. Charles C Thomas, Springfield Ill
Sjödin B (1976) Lactate dehydrogenase in human skeletal muscle. Acta Physiol Scand [Suppl] 436
Tesch P (1980) Muscle fatigue in man with special reference to lactate accumulation during short term intense exercise. Acta Physiol Scand [Suppl] 480: 1–90
Tesch P, Sjödin B, Karlsson J (1978) Relationship between lactate accumulation, LDH activity, LDH isozyme and fibre type distribution in human skeletal muscle. Acta Physiol Scand 103: 40–46
Tesch PA, Wright JE, Daniels WL, Sjödin B (1983) Physical performances and muscle metabolic characteristics. In: Knuttgen HG, Vogel JA, Poortmons J (eds). Int. Series on Sport Sciences. 13. Biochemistry of Exercise. Human Kinetics Publishers. Champaign, IL. pp 258–263
Thorstensson A, Karlsson J (1976) Fatiguability and fibre composition of human skeletal muscle. Acta Physiol Scand 98: 318–322
Tihanyi J, Apor P, Fekete GY (1982) Force-velocity-power characteristics and fiber composition in human knee extensor muscles. Eur J Appl Physiol 48: 331–343
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Dr. Tesch was on leave from Department of Clinical Physiology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tesch, P.A., Wright, J.E. Recovery from short term intense exercise: Its relation to capillary supply and blood lactate concentration. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 52, 98–103 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00429033
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00429033