Influence of prior exercise on muscle phosphorylcreatine and deoxygenation kinetics during high‐intensity exercise in men

(31)Phosphate-magnetic resonance spectroscopy and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were used for the simultaneous assessment of changes in quadriceps muscle metabolism and oxygenation during consecutive bouts of high-intensity exercise. Six male subjects completed two 6 min bouts of single-legged knee-extension exercise at 80% of the peak work rate separated by 6 min of rest while positioned inside the bore of a 1.5 T superconducting magnet. The total haemoglobin and oxyhaemoglobin concentrations in the area of the quadriceps muscle interrogated with NIRS were significantly higher in the baseline period prior to the second compared with the first exercise bout, consistent with an enhanced muscle oxygenation. Intramuscular phosphorylcreatine concentration (PCr) dynamics were not different over the fundamental region of the response (time constant for bout 1, 51 +/- 15 s versus bout 2, 52 +/- 17 s). However, the PCr dynamics over the entire response were faster in the second bout (mean response time for bout 1, 72 +/- 16 s versus bout 2, 57 +/- 8 s; P < 0.05), as a consequence of a greater fall in PCr in the fundamental phase and a reduction in the magnitude of the 'slow component' in PCr beyond 3 min of exercise (bout 1, 10 +/- 6% versus bout 2, 5 +/- 3%; P < 0.05). These data suggest that the increased muscle O(2) availability afforded by the performance of a prior bout of high-intensity exercise does not significantly alter the kinetics of PCr hydrolysis at the onset of a subsequent bout of high-intensity exercise. The greater fall in PCr over the fundamental phase of the response following prior high-intensity exercise indicates that residual fatigue acutely reduces muscle efficiency.