Fuel kinetics during intense running and cycling when fed carbohydrate

Derman, Kevin Dale

Fuel kinetics during intense running and cycling when fed carbohydrate

Master Thesis

1996

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

MRC/UCT RU for Exercise and Sport Medicine

Faculty

Faculty of Health Sciences

Abstract

On two occasions six competitive, male triathletes performed in random order, two experimental trials consisting of either a timed ride to exhaustion on a cycle-ergometer or a run to exhaustion on a motor-driven treadmill at 80% of their respective peak cycling and peak running oxygen uptakes (VO₂peak)- At the start of exercise, subjects drank 250 ml of a 15 g.100 ml⁻¹ w.v⁻¹ glucose solution with U-¹⁴C glucose added as tracer and, thereafter, 150 ml of the same solution every 15 min. Despite identical metabolic rates (VO₂ 3.51 ±0.06 vs. 3.51 ±0.10 l.min⁻¹; values are mean± SEM for the cycling and running trials, respectively), exercise times to exhaustion were significantly longer during cycling than running (96 ±14 vs. 63 ±11 min; P<0.05). The superior cycling than running endurance was not associated with any differences in either the rate of blood glucose oxidation (3.8 ±0.1 vs. 3.9 ±0.4 mmol.min⁻¹ ), nor the rate of ingested glucose oxidation (2.0 ± 0.1 vs. 1.7 ±0.2 mmol.min⁻¹) at the last common time point (40 min) before exhaustion, despite higher blood glucose concentrations at exhaustion during running than cycling (7.0 ±0.9 vs. 5.8 ±0.5 mmol.l⁻¹; P<0.05). However, the final rate of total CHO oxidation was significantly greater during cycling than running (24.0 ±0.8 vs. 21.7 ±1.4 mmol C6 .min⁻¹;P<0.01). At exhaustion, the estimated contribution to energy production from muscle glycogen had declined to similar extents in both cycling and running (68 ±3 vs. 65 ± 5%). These differences between the rates of total CHO oxidation and blood glucose oxidation suggested that the direct and/or indirect (via lactate) oxidation of muscle glycogen was greater in cycling than running.