Effect of antecedent moderate-intensity exercise on the glycemia-increasing effect of a 30-sec maximal sprint: a sex comparison

Abstract

This study investigated whether a prior bout of moderate-intensity exercise attenuates the glycemia-increasing effect of a maximal 30-sec sprint. A secondary aim was to determine whether the effect of antecedent exercise on the glucoregulatory response to sprinting is affected by sex. Participants (men n = 8; women n = 7) were tested on two occasions during which they either rested (CON) or cycled for 60-min at a moderate intensity of ~65% (EX) before performing a 30-sec maximal cycling effort 195 min later. In response to the sprint, blood glucose increased to a similar extent between EX and CON trials, peaking at 10 min of recovery, with no difference between sexes (P > 0.05). Blood glucose then declined at a faster rate in EX, and this was associated with a glucose rate of disappearance (Rd) that exceeded the glucose rate of appearance (Ra) earlier in EX compared with CON, although the overall glucose Ra and Rd profile was higher in men compared with women (P < 0.05). The response of growth hormone was attenuated during recovery from EX compared with CON (P < 0.05), with a lower absolute response in women compared with men (P < 0.05). The response of epinephrine and norepinephrine was also lower in women compared with men (P < 0.05) but similar between trials. In summary, a prior bout of moderate-intensity exercise does not affect the magnitude of the glycemia-increasing response to a 30-sec sprint; however, the subsequent decline in blood glucose is more rapid. This blood glucose response is similar between men and women, despite less pronounced changes in glucose Ra and Rd, and a lower response of plasma catecholamines and growth hormone to sprinting in women.

Sex-related differences in fuel utilization and hormonal response to exercise: implications for individuals with type 1 diabetes

“…A study by Davis et al (2000b) reported a similar increase in plasma glucagon in both sexes following 90 minutes of continuous submaximal exercise on a cycle ergometer at 80% of anaerobic threshold (Davis et al 2000b). Similar results were also reported in a study by Justice et al (2015), in which, after repeated bouts of high intensity sprints, there was no main effect of sex on changes in plasma glucagon concentrations (Justice et al 2015). However, other studies have reported a lower glucagon response to exercise in females compared to males exercising on a cycle ergometer at ~50% VO 2 max (Perreault et al 2004;Horton et al 2006a;Tarnopolsky et al 1990;Henderson et al 2008).…”

“…While there are studies that report no sex-related differences in catecholamine response to a Wingate test (30-s maximum sprint on a cycle ergometer) in recreationally active individuals (Vincent et al 2004), and to 14 minutes of anaerobic exercise to exhaustion in moderately trained individuals (Marliss et al 2000), the majority of studies report a significantly greater catecholamine response to various types of exercise in males compared to females (Amiel et al 1993;Gratas-Delamarche et al 1994;Horton et al 1998;Davis et al 2000b;Pullinen et al 2002;Hedrington and Davis 2015;Justice et al 2015). Davis et al (2000b) matched men and women for age, BMI, fitness level and fat mass and found significantly elevated epinephrine and norepinephrine concentrations in men compared to women during moderate aerobic exercise on a cycle ergometer in the fasted state (Davis et al 2000b).…”

“…Horton et al (1998) compared the metabolic effects of endurance exercise on a cycle ergometer for 2h at 40% VO 2 max in men and women, which showed that long duration aerobic exercise also produces significantly greater epinephrine and norepinephrine levels in men than in women (Horton et al 1998). High intensity and resistance exercise (Table 3), which elicit substantially higher levels of catecholamines compared to aerobic exercise, also display the same sex-related differences as moderate intensity and endurance exercise (Pullinen et al 2002;Justice et al 2015).…”

“…Some studies report a significantly higher growth hormone response in men compared to women after sprint (Justice et al 2015), aerobic exercise (Vislocky et al 2008;Tarnopolsky et al 1990;Henderson et al 2007) The majority of studies, however, report a similar response in males and females in which both sexes experience a similar relative increase in growth hormone levels during and following exercise that lasts longer than 10 minutes (Kraemer et al 1991;Davis et al 2000b;Consitt et al 2002;Esbjörnsson et al 2009;Benini et al 2015, Pullinen et al 2002.…”

“…Recently, there has been an increasing amount of studies that have sought to include both male and female participants, and sex-related differences in exercise have been more widely established. Studies comparing the neuroendocrine and metabolic responses to exercise in nondiabetic males and females have shown clear sex-related differences in fuel selection (Horton et al 1998; Davis et al 2000b;Galassetti et al 2002;Mittendorfer et al 2002;Steffensen et al 2002;Riddell et al 2003;Henderson et al 2007;Tarnopolsky 2008;Fragala et al 2011;Isacco et al 2012;Hedrington and Davis 2015;Devries 2016;Wiecek et al 2017) and the responses of hormones such as catecholamines (Amiel et al 1993;Gratas-Delamarche et al 1994;Horton et al 1998;Davis et al 2000b;Pullinen et al 2002;Steffensen et al 2002;Hedrington and Davis 2015;Justice et al 2015), testosterone (Kraemer et al 1998;Nindl et al 2001;Linnamo et al 2005;Fragala et al 2011;Benini et al 2015), estrogen (Horton et al 1998;Hamadeh et al 2005;Devries et al 2006;Isacco et al 2012) and growth hormone (Davis et al 2000b;Esbjörnsson et al 2009;Eliakim et al 2014;Luk et al 2015). These factors influence how women and men respond to the same exercise program, and have thus brought about the suggestion for sex-specific training protocols to enhance health and performance (Devries 2016).…”