The Effects of Differing Environmental Conditions on the Performance and Recovery from High-Intensity, Intermittent Cycle Ergometry

The aim of this experiment was to determine the effects of 3 different environmental conditions on the performance and recovery from short-term, high-intensity, anaerobic-type exercise. Eight males (age = 25.5 +/- 1.8 years; height = 179.0 +/- 3.7 cm; weight = 72.3 +/- 4.0 kg; VO2max = 51.5 +/- 2.4 ml x kg-1 x min-1], peak aerobic power 366 +/- 13 W) volunteered for this study. After undertaking VO2max testing, all participated randomly in 3 consecutive 30-second Wingate tests (WAnT) in 3 different environmental conditions: normal (22 degrees C/30% RH), humid (30 degrees C/85% RH), and hot (40 degrees C/40% RH). Subjects were then monitored for the 60-minute postexercise period. Blood samples were taken pre-, immediately postexercise, and at 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes into the recovery period and analyzed for lactate, pH, and hematocrit. Weight was measured preexercise and at 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes postexercise. The results of the tests indicate that there were no changes in the subject's body weight between tests or in the recovery period. The mean peak power values achieved were 897.9 +/- 18.8, 832.5 +/- 16.4, and 798.8 +/- 21.0 W for WAnT test 1, 2, and 3, respectively, which were not significantly different in the 3 conditions, but were significantly different from each other p <0.02 and p <0.0004 for comparisons of 1v2 and 2v3, respectively. Other data showed no significant differences between the conditions during the exercise or the 60-minute recovery period. The results suggest that in both the hot and humid conditions seen in our experiment, there was no adverse affect on the performance of the WAnT test.