Chia Lun Lee

Inspiratory muscle warm-up attenuates muscle deoxygenation during cycling exercise in women athletes

This study examines the effects of inspiratory muscle warm-up (IMW) on performance and muscle oxygenation during cycling exercise. In a randomized crossover study of 10 female soccer players, the IMW, placebo (IMWP) and control (CON) trials were conducted before two 6-min submaximal cycling exercises (100 and 150W) followed by intermittent high-intensity sprint (IHIS, 6×10s with 60s recovery). The reduction in tissue saturation index (TSI) in legs in the IMW were significantly less than those in IMWP and CON (P<0.01) during submaximal cycling exercises. The average reduction in TSI during the IHIS test with IMW was significantly less than those in the IMWP and CON (P=0.023). Nevertheless, the IHIS performance with IMW did not differ from that in other trials. In conclusion, the leg TSI during continuous submaximal cycling exercise followed by intermittent sprinting was likely improved by specific IMW (40% maximal inspiratory mouth pressure), which did not enhance IHIS performance.

Effect of creatine plus caffeine supplements on time to exhaustion during an incremental maximum exercise

Abstract This study investigated the effects of acute caffeine ingestion following short-term creatine supplementation on an incremental cycling to exhaustion task. Twelve active males performed the task under three conditions: baseline condition (BASE, no ergogenic aid), creatine plus caffeine condition (CRE + CAF), and creatine with placebo condition (CRE + PLA). Following the establishment of BASE condition, participants were administered CRE + CAF (0.3 g·kg−1·day−1 of creatine for 5 days followed by 6 mg·kg−1 of caffeine 1 h prior to testing) and CRE + PLA (0.3 g·kg−1·day−1 of creatine for 5 days followed by 6 mg·kg−1 of placebo 1 h prior to testing) in a double-blind, randomized crossover and counterbalancing protocol. No significant differences were observed in relative maximal oxygen consumption ([Vdot]O2max) (51.7±5.5, 52.8±4.9 and 51.3±5.6 ml·kg−1·min−1 for BASE, CRE + CAF and CRE + PLA, respectively; P>0.05) and absolute [Vdot]O2max (3.6±0.4, 3.7±0.4 and 3.5±0.5 l·min−1 for BASE, CRE + CAF and CRE + PLA, respectively; P>0.05). Blood samples indicated significantly higher blood lactate and glucose concentrations in the CRE + CAF among those in the BASE or CRE + PLA condition during the test (P<0.05). The time to exhaustion on a cycling ergometer was significantly longer for CRE + CAF (1087.2±123.9 s) compared with BASE (1009.2±86.0 s) or CRE + PLA (1040.3±96.1 s). This study indicated that a single dose of caffeine following short-term creatine supplementation did not hinder the creatine–caffeine interaction. In fact, it lengthened the time to exhaustion during an incremental maximum exercise test. However, this regime might lead to the accumulation of lactate in the blood.