Aim: To investigate if training during hypoxia (H) improves the adaptation of muscle oxidative function compared with normoxic (N) training performed at the same relative intensity.
Method: Eight untrained volunteers performed one-legged cycle training during 4 weeks in a low-pressure chamber. One leg was trained under N conditions and the other leg under hypobaric hypoxia (526 mmHg) at the same relative intensity as during N (65% of maximal power output, Wmax). Muscle biopsies were taken from vastus lateralis before and after the training period. Muscle samples were analysed for the activities of oxidative enzymes [citrate synthase (CS) and cytochrome c oxidase (COX)] and mitochondrial respiratory function.
Results: W max increased with more than 30% over the training period during both N and H. CS activity increased significantly after training during N conditions (+20.8%, P < 0.05) but remained unchanged after H training (+4.5%, ns) with a significant difference between conditions (P < 0.05 H vs. N). COX activity was not significantly changed by training and was not different between exercise conditions [+14.6 (N) vs. -2.3% (H), ns]. Maximal ADP stimulated respiration (state 3) expressed per weight of muscle tended to increase after N (+31.2%, P < 0.08) but not after H training (+3.2%, ns). No changes were found in state four respiration, respiratory control index, P/O ratio, mitochondrial Ca2+ resistance and apparent Km for oxygen.
Conclusion: The training-induced increase in muscle oxidative function observed during N was abolished during H. Altitude training may thus be disadvantageous for adaptation of muscle oxidative function.
Limitations in energy supply is a classical hypothesis of muscle fatigue. The present paper reviews the evidence available from human studies that energy deficiency is an important factor in fatigue. The maximal rate of energy expenditure determined in skinned fibres is close to the rate of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) utilisation observed in vivo and data suggest that performance during short bursts of exercise (<5 s duration) primarily is limited by other factors than energy supply (e.g. Vmax of myosine adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), motor unit recruitment, engaged muscle mass). Within 10 s of exercise maximal power output decreases considerably and coincides with depletion of phosphocreatine. During recovery, maximal force and power output is restored with a similar time course as the resynthesis of phosphocreatine. Increases in muscle store of phosphocreatine through dietary supplementation with creatine increases performance during high-intensity exercise. These findings support the hypothesis that energy supply limits performance during high-intensity exercise. It is well documented that pre-exercise muscle glycogen content is related to performance during moderate intensity exercise. Recent data indicates that the interfibre variation in phosphocreatine is large after prolonged exercise to fatigue and that some fibres are depleted to the same extent as after high-intensity exercise. Despite relatively small decreases in ATP, the products of ATP hydrolysis (Pi and free ADP) may increase considerably. FreeADP calculated from the creatine kinase reaction increases 10-fold both after high-intensity exercise and after prolonged exercise to fatigue. It is suggested that local increases in ADP may reach inhibitory levels for the contraction process.
Muscle oxidative function has been investigated in subjects with various training status (VO2 max, 41–72 mL O2 kg-1 body wt min-1, n=10). Mitochondria were isolated from biopsies taken from m. vastus lateralis. Maximal mitochondrial oxygen consumption (QO2) and ATP production (MAPR) were measured with polarographic and bioluminometric techniques, respectively. The yield of mitochondria, calculated from the fractional activity of citrate synthase (CS), averaged 26%. With pyruvate + malate, the respiratory control ratio was 5.7 ± 0.4 (X ± SE) and the P/O ratio was 2.83 ± 0.02, which demonstrates that the isolated mitochondria were functionally intact. QO2 was significantly correlated to aerobic training status expressed as muscle CS activity (r=0.86), VO2 max (r=0.84) and lactate threshold (r=0.83) but not to the fibre type composition. A highly significant correlation (r=0.93) was observed between ATP production calculated from QO2 and MAPR, but ATP production derived from QO2 was higher than MAPR both for pyruvate + malate (255%) and for a-ketoglutarate (23%). QO2 extrapolated to a temperature of 38 °C averaged 68 mL O2 min-1 kg-1 wet wt, which is similar to previous findings in vitro and in vivo during the post-exercise period. However, calculated muscle O2 utilization during exercise was three- to fivefold higher than QO2 measured on isolated mitochondria. It is suggested that additional factors exist for activation of mitochondrial respiration during exercise. It is concluded that muscle oxidative function can be quantitatively assessed from the respiration of mitochondria isolated from needle biopsy specimens and that QO2 is closely correlated to whole-body VO2 max.