Manuel Mateo-March

Cognitive performance and heart rate variability: the influence of fitness level.

In the present study, we investigated the relation between cognitive performance and heart rate variability as a function of fitness level. We measured the effect of three cognitive tasks (the psychomotor vigilance task, a temporal orienting task, and a duration discrimination task) on the heart rate variability of two groups of participants: a high-fit group and a low-fit group. Two major novel findings emerged from this study. First, the lowest values of heart rate variability were found during performance of the duration discrimination task, compared to the other two tasks. Second, the results showed a decrement in heart rate variability as a function of the time on task, although only in the low-fit group. Moreover, the high-fit group showed overall faster reaction times than the low-fit group in the psychomotor vigilance task, while there were not significant differences in performance between the two groups of participants in the other two cognitive tasks. In sum, our results highlighted the influence of cognitive processing on heart rate variability. Importantly, both behavioral and physiological results suggested that the main benefit obtained as a result of fitness level appeared to be associated with processes involving sustained attention.

Attitudes towards doping and related experience in Spanish national cycling teams according to different olympic disciplines.

Attitudes towards doping are considered an influence of doping intentions. The aims of the present study were 1) to discover and compare the attitudes towards doping among Spanish national team cyclists from different Olympic disciplines, as well as 2) to get some complementary information that could better explain the context. The sample was comprised of seventy-two cyclists: mean age 19.67±4.72 years; 70.8% males (n = 51); from the different Olympic disciplines of Mountain bike -MTB- (n = 18), Bicycle Moto Cross -BMX- (n = 12), Track -TRA- (n = 9) and Road -ROA- (n = 33). Descriptive design was carried out using a validated scale (PEAS). To complement this, a qualitative open-ended questionnaire was used. Overall mean score (17–102) was 36.12±9.39. For different groups, the data were: MTB: 30.28±6.92; BMX: 42.46±10.74; TRA: 43.22±12.00; ROA: 34.91±6.62, respectively. In relation to overall score, significant differences were observed between MTB and BMX (p = 0.002) and between MTB and TRA (p = 0.003). For the open-ended qualitative questionnaire, the most mentioned word associated with “doping” was “cheating” (48.83% of total sample), with “responsible agents of doping” the word “doctor” (52,77%), and with the “main reason for the initiation in doping” the words “sport achievement” (45.83%). The major proposed solution was “doing more doping controls” (43.05%). Moreover, 48.67% stated that there was “a different treatment between cycling and other sports”. This study shows that Spanish national team cyclists from Olympic cycling disciplines, in general, are not tolerant in relation to doping. BMX and Track riders are a little more permissive towards the use of banned substances than MTB and Road. Results from the qualitative open-ended questionnaire showed interesting data in specific questions. These results empower the idea that, apart from maintaining doping controls and making them more efficient, anti-doping education programs are needed from the earliest ages.

Is baseline cardiac autonomic modulation related to performance and physiological responses following a supramaximal Judo test

Little research exists concerning Heart Rate (HR) Variability (HRV) following supramaximal efforts focused on upper-body explosive strength-endurance. Since they may be very demanding, it seems of interest to analyse the relationship among performance, lactate and HR dynamics (i.e. HR, HRV and complexity) following them; as well as to know how baseline cardiac autonomic modulation mediates these relationships. The present study aimed to analyse associations between baseline and post-exercise HR dynamics following a supramaximal Judo test, and their relationship with lactate, in a sample of 22 highly-trained male judoists (20.70±4.56 years). A large association between the increase in HR from resting to exercise condition and performance suggests that individuals exerted a greater sympathetic response to achieve a better performance (Rating of Perceived Exertion: 20; post-exercise peak lactate: 11.57±2.24 mmol/L; 95.76±4.13 % of age-predicted HRmax). Athletes with higher vagal modulation and lower sympathetic modulation at rest achieved both a significant larger ∆HR and a faster post-exercise lactate removal. A enhanced resting parasympathetic modulation might be therefore related to a further usage of autonomic resources and a better immediate metabolic recovery during supramaximal exertions. Furthermore, analyses of variance displayed a persistent increase in α1 and a decrease in lnRMSSD along the 15 min of recovery, which are indicative of a diminished vagal modulation together with a sympathovagal balance leaning to sympathetic domination. Eventually, time-domain indices (lnRMSSD) showed no lactate correlations, while nonlinear indices (α1 and lnSaEn) appeared to be moderate to strongly correlated with it, thus pointing to shared mechanisms between neuroautonomic and metabolic regulation.

Effect of induced alkalosis on performance during a field-simulated BMX cycling competition

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to test the effect of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3-) ingestion on performance during a simulated competition on a Bicycle Motocross (BMX) track. DESIGN Double-blind cross-over study. METHODS Twelve elite male BMX cyclists (age: 19.2±3.4 years; height: 174.2±5.3cm; body mass: 72.4±8.4kg) ingested either NaHCO3- (0.3g.kg-1 body weight) or placebo 90min prior to exercise. The cyclists completed three races in a BMX Olympic track interspersed with 15min of recovery. Blood samples were collected to assess the blood acid-base status. Performance, cardiorespiratory, heart rate variability (HRV) as well as subjective variables were assessed. RESULTS The main effect of condition (NaHCO3- vs. placebo) was observed in pH, bicarbonate concentration and base excess (p<0.05), with a significant blood alkalosis. No changes were found in time, peak velocity and time to peak velocity for condition (p>0.05). The HRV analysis showed a significant effect of NaHCO3- ingestion, expressed by the rMSSD30 (root mean square of the successive differences) (p<0.001). There was no effect of condition on oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production, or pulmonary ventilation (p>0.05). Finally, there was no effect of condition for any subjective scale (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS We present here the first field condition study to investigate the effect of bicarbonate ingestion over performance in BMX discipline. The results showed that NaHCO3--induced alkalosis did not improve performance in a simulated BMX competition in elite BMX cyclists, although future studies should consider the effects of NaHCO3- on autonomic function as a component of recovery.

Cardiovascular and Autonomic Responses to a Maximal Exercise Test in Elite Youngsters

To analyze cardiovascular and autonomic responses in elite youngsters, 13 male cyclists (15.43±0.51 years) performed a graded-test until voluntary exhaustion. Oxygen consumption (VO2), blood lactate (BLa), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were collected, while heart rate (HR) was registered for heart rate variability (HRV) analyses, looking for linear and nonlinear comparisons. Cyclists reached maximal exertion [RPE: 19.14±0.94; BLa: 8.92±2.51 mmol.L-1; RER: 1.04±0.03; SaO2: 92.43±2.5%] and high-level performance (4.41±0.46 W·Kg-1; 60.77±6.87 ml·Kg·min-1) once over 95% of age-predicted HRmax. VO2 and RPE increased, and RR intervals (RRi) decreased (p<0.005), whereas only the short-term scaling exponent of the Detrended Fluctuation Analysis technique (DFA1) displayed similar adaptive changes regarding intensity (p=0.011). After controlling for W·Kg-1 and RRi, DFA1100% (0.260±0.084) showed large-negative correlations with VO2max (r=-0.83; p<0.05) and RPEmax (r=-0.79; p<0.05), suggesting a strong association between the reduction in self-similar properties of the cardiac signal and the capacity to elicit at maximum in youths. Overall-HRV (lnRMSSD) and short-term variability (lnSD1) did not show any association at maximum, or significant differences regarding intensity. DFA1 might reflect ANS-CNS linkage related to cardiac respiratory controls through exercise, becoming a complementary criterion for VO2max testing in youths.

List of reviewers 2014

Takeshi Akisada Mitsuhiro Aoki Mikiya Asako Michael von Brevern Abdulkadir Bucak Kazuaki Chikamatsu Shun-ichi Chitose Seth H. Dailey Katsumi Doi Shigeharu Fujieda Masato Fujii Yasushi Fujimoto Kazunori Fujiwara Satoshi Fukuda Madoka K Furukawa Yasushi Furuta Babak Givi Fumiyuki Goto Minoru Gotoh Kiyofumi Gyo Shin-Ichi Haginomori Tomoyuki Haji Michael Halmagyi Masashi Hamada Nobuhiro Hanai Toyoyuki Hanazawa Akira Hara Hirotaka Hara Yasuaki Harabuchi Shinichi Haruna Sho Hashimoto Atsushi Hatano Naohito Hato Ryuichi Hayashi Hiroshi Hidaka Ryuzaburo Higo Tetsuo Himi Yasuyuki Hinohira Hideki Hirabayashi Katsuhiro Hirakawa Harukazu Hiraumi Hajime Hirose Yasuo Hisa Eric Holbrook Akihiro Homma Kohei Honda Ryusuke Hori Masamitsu Hyodo Hiroaki Ichijo Keiichi Ichimura Masahiro Iida Yukiko Iino Kei Ijichi Katsuhisa Ikeda Ryo Ikoma Takao Imai Akira Inagaki Hidenori Inohara Kazuo Ishikawa Makoto Ito Shigemichi Iwae Hiroshi Iwai Shinichi Iwasaki Yong Ju Jang Hong Ryul Jin Ken Johkura Seiji Kakehata Takeharu Kanazawa Kenichi Kaneko Sho Kanzaki Yasuhiro Kase Hisayuki Kato Yukio Katori Kazuyoshi Kawabata Tetsuaki Kawase Ryo Kawata Hideyuki Kawauchi Shigeru Kikuchi Sung Wan Kim Seiji Kishimoto Tadashi Kitahara Ken Kitamura Koichi Kitamura Hitome Kobayashi Taisuke Kobayashi Toshimitsu Kobayashi Satoru Kodama Hiromi Kojima Ichiro Komada Kenji Kondo Ja-Won Koo Akira Kubota Hidetaka Kumagami Kozo Kumakawa Yuichiro Kuratomi Yuichi Kurono Bunya Kuze Louis Mandel Muneyuki Masuda Keisuke Masuyama Atsushi Matsubara Keiji Matsuda Fumihiko Matsumoto Shoji Matsune Kazuto Matsuura Yoshinori Matsuwaki Hiroyuki Mineta Ryosei Minoda Yasuo Mishiro Masato Miwa Takaki Miwa Takenori Miyashita Keisuke Mizuta Nozomu Mori Masafumi Moriyama Shingo Murakami Junko Murata Toshihisa Murofushi Shigeyuki Murono Yasushi Naito Takashi Nakagawa Takayuki Nakagawa Mitsuhiko Nakahira Itsuo Nakajima Munenaga Nakamizo Kazunari Nakao Tadashi Nakashima Torahiko Nakashima Tsutomu Nakashima Seiichi Nakata Meiho Nakayama Meijin Nakayama Seiji Niimi Suetaka Nishiike Hiroshi Nishino Kazunori Nishizaki Takaharu Nito Manabu Nonaka Hiroshi Ogawa Kaoru Ogawa Makoto Ogawa Takenori Ogawa Motofumi Ohki Nobuo Ohta Kenji Okami Mitsuhiro Okano Taeko Okuno Nobuhiko Oridate Ichiro Ota Yasushi Ota Nobuyoshi Otori Naoki Otsuki Chae-Seo Rhee Masafumi Sakagami Tatsunori Sakamoto Daiju Sakurai Kazuo Sakurai Tetsuji Sanuki Hiroaki Sato

Six hundred meter-run and broken 800's contribution to pacing improvement in eight hundred meter-athletics: role of expertise and training implications.

Abstract Blasco-Lafarga, C, Montoya-Vieco, A, Martínez-Navarro, I, Mateo-March, M, and Gallach JE. Six hundred meter–run and broken 800’s contribution to pacing improvement in eight hundred meter–athletics: role of expertise and training implications. J Strength Cond Res 27(9): 2405–2413, 2013—Little is known about the influence of speed endurance workouts on the improvement of pacing strategies in the 800-m running event. This study aims to analyze it, comparing continuous repetitions vs. interval training workouts. Because we hypothesize that pacing is susceptible to expertise, there might be age differences. Nineteen male 800-m runners (age: 21.36 ± 5.26, season best [SB]: 117.14 ± 5.18 seconds) were tested. Athletes were asked to run 1 × 600 m (6r) at 100% (SB) and 2 × 4 (200 m per 30 seconds) per 15 minutes (B8) at 102% (SB), counterbalanced and randomized within 1 week of difference. Pacing strategy (velocity dynamics) was analyzed by means of time differences in 200-m segments (T200), whereas age category was considered a grouping factor (younger than 23 years–senior, n = 10; vs. juvenile-junior, n = 9; 25.29 ± 4.32, 17.00 ± 0.66 years). Blood lactate was registered after 6r, B81, and B82 bouts. Univariate contrast analysis revealed a significant decrease in velocity during 6r (p < 0.001; 9.33% between first and third segment), thus a positive pacing, whatever the age category. B8 shared this final significant impairment (p < 0.001), although it was smaller (5.73% drop for B81; 8.47% for B82), and neither linear nor significant among consecutive T200. B8 also showed significant differences (p < 0.05) in the interaction sampling condition × age category. The T test added blood lactate significant differences (B82: 15.42 ± 1.16, B81: 12.25 ± 2.03 and 6r: 13.58 ± 1.82 mmol·L-1). Summarizing, both methods share a positive pacing, confirming to be related to enhancing energy systems and coping final fatigue in the 800 m. Continuous 6r preserves the nature and tempo of the 800 m, although 1 repetition is metabolically limited. Interval B8 allows larger amounts of high intensity running, enhancing neuromuscular benefits jointly with higher lactate productions. Significant age category differences in B8 indicate that pacing capacity may improve with expertise and interval workouts may be appropriate methods to manage it.