Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the physiological adaptations in physically fit individuals to a period of intensified training. Ten trained males cycled outdoors ∼170 km day-1 on 19 out of 21 days. Expired gas was collected on days 1 and 21 during maximal graded exercise and used for the determination of gross efficiency and whole body substrate use. Muscle biopsies were obtained before and after exercise on days 2 and 22 for the determination of mtDNA/gDNA ratio, gene expression, metabolic enzyme activity and glycogen use. Muscle glycogen before and after exercise, fat oxidation, and gross efficiency increased, carbohydrate oxidation decreased (p<0.05), and VO 2max did not change over the 21 days of training. Citrate synthase (CS), -hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase (-HAD) and cytochrome c oxidase (COX) enzyme activity did not change with training. CS and -HAD mRNA did not change with acute exercise or training. COX (subunit IV) mRNA increased with acute exercise (p<0.05) but did not change over the 21 days. PGC-1α mRNA increased with acute exercise, but did not increase to the same degree on day 22 as it did on day 2 (p<0.05). UCP3 mRNA decreased with training (p<0.05). Acute exercise caused an increase in mitofusin2 (MFN2) mRNA (p<0.05) and a trend for an increase in mtDNA/gDNA ratio (p = 0.057). However, training did not affect MFN2 mRNA or mtDNA/gDNA ratio. In response to 3,211 km of cycling, changes in substrate use and gross efficiency appear to be more profound than mitochondrial adaptations in trained individuals.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1621-1630 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | European Journal of Applied Physiology |
Volume | 112 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2012 |
Keywords
- Cycling
- Efficiency
- Gene expression
- Metabolic enzymes
- MtDNA
- Training adaptation