Rowing, the ultimate challenge to the human body – implications for physiological variables

Volianitis, Stefanos; Secher, Niels H.

doi:10.1111/j.1475-097x.2009.00867.x

Cited by 37 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The strong positive correlation between baseline muscle carnosine content and the speed during four different rowing distances (Table 1) suggests that besides the known performance-related factors [anaerobic threshold (30), absolute maximum oxygen uptake (V O 2max ) (9,31,45), muscle composition (18,29), and anthropometric profile (10)], muscle carnosine content is also a determinant of rowing performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…In this context, rowing is an ideal model to study, because the official race distance (2,000 m) takes about 5.5-8 min depending on sex, category, boat type, and environmental conditions. A 2,000-m rowing race has a specific profile, in which anaerobic alactic and lactic, as well as aerobic capacities are stressed to their maximum (45). According to Körner and Schwanitz (27), a 2,000-m rowing race can be divided into three main phases, which are time bound and hence distance bound.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Important role of muscle carnosine in rowing performance

Baguet

Bourgois

Vanhee

et al. 2010

Journal of Applied Physiology

144

160

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The role of the presence of carnosine (β-alanyl-L-histidine) in millimolar concentrations in human skeletal muscle is poorly understood. Chronic oral β-alanine supplementation is shown to elevate muscle carnosine content and improve anaerobic exercise performance during some laboratory tests, mainly in the untrained. It remains to be determined whether carnosine loading can improve single competition-like events in elite athletes. The aims of the present study were to investigate if performance is related to the muscle carnosine content and if β-alanine supplementation improves performance in highly trained rowers. Eighteen Belgian elite rowers were supplemented for 7 wk with either placebo or β-alanine (5 g/day). Before and following supplementation, muscle carnosine content in soleus and gastrocnemius medialis was measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) and the performance was evaluated in a 2,000-m ergometer test. At baseline, there was a strong positive correlation between 100-, 500-, 2,000-, and 6,000-m speed and muscle carnosine content. After β-alanine supplementation, the carnosine content increased by 45.3% in soleus and 28.2% in gastrocnemius. Following supplementation, the β-alanine group was 4.3 s faster than the placebo group, whereas before supplementation they were 0.3 s slower (P = 0.07). Muscle carnosine elevation was positively correlated to 2,000-m performance enhancement (P = 0.042 and r = 0.498). It can be concluded that the positive correlation between baseline muscle carnosine levels and rowing performance and the positive correlation between changes in muscle carnosine and performance improvement suggest that muscle carnosine is a new determinant of rowing performance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Important role of muscle carnosine in rowing performance

Baguet

Bourgois

Vanhee

et al. 2010

Journal of Applied Physiology

144

160

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While the physiological and biomechanical parameters associated with rowing performance have been largely studied (Hagerman 1984;Soper and Hume 2004;Volianitis and Secher 2009), few data are available about muscle coordination [defined as ''a distribution of muscle activation or force among individual muscles to produce a given combination of joint moments'' (Prilutsky 2000)]. Using surface electromyography (EMG), some studies have reported muscle activity patterns on a rowing ergometer (Lay et al 2002;Pollock et al 2009;Rodriguez et al 1990;Wilson et al 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Effect of power output on muscle coordination during rowing

et al. 2011

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The present study was designed to quantify the effect of power output on muscle coordination during rowing. Surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of 23 muscles and mechanical variables were recorded in eight untrained subjects and seven experienced rowers. Each subject was asked to perform three 2-min constant-load exercises performed at 60, 90 and 120% of the mean power output over a maximal 2,000-m event (denoted as P60, P90, and P120, respectively). A decomposition algorithm (nonnegative matrix factorization) was used to extract the muscle synergies that represent the global temporal and spatial organization of the motor output. The results showed a main effect of power output for 22 of 23 muscles (p values ranged from <0.0001 to 0.004) indicating a significant increase in EMG activity level with power output for both untrained and experienced subjects. However, for the two populations, no dramatic modification in the shape of individual EMG patterns (mean r (max) value = 0.93 ± 0.09) or in their timing of activation (maximum lag time = -4.3 ± 3.8% of the rowing cycle) was found. The results also showed a large consistency of the three extracted muscle synergies, for both synergy activation coefficients (mean r (max) values range from 0.87 to 0.97) and muscle synergy vectors (mean r values range from 0.70 to 0.76) across the three power outputs. In conclusion, despite significant changes in the level of muscle activity, the global temporal and spatial organization of the motor output is very little affected by power output on a rowing ergometer.

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“…Accordingly, Olympic rowing is a type of whole body exercise that is considered to present the extreme challenge to homeostasis (Volianitis and Secher 2009). Yet, it is not known to what extent intracellular acidosis is reflected in the observed intravascular acidosis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The intracellular to extracellular proton gradient following maximal whole body exercise and its implication for anaerobic energy production

2010

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Maximal exercise elicits systemic acidosis where venous pH can drop to 6.74 and here we assessed how much lower the intracellular value (pH(i)) might be. The wrist flexor muscles are intensively involved in rowing and (31)P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy allows for calculation of forearm pH(i) and energy metabolites at high time resolution. Arm venous blood was collected in seven competitive rowers (4 males; 72 +/- 5 kg; mean +/- SD) at rest and immediately after a "2,000 m" maximal rowing ergometer effort when hemoglobin O(2) saturation decreased from 51 +/- 4 to 29 +/- 9% and lactate rose from 1.0 +/- 0.1 to 16.8 +/- 3.6 mM. Venous pH and pH(i) decreased from 7.43 +/- 0.01 to 6.90 +/- 0.01 and from 7.05 +/- 0.02 to 6.32 +/- 0.19 (P < 0.05), respectively, while the ratio of inorganic phosphate to phosphocreatine increased from 0.12 +/- 0.03 to 1.50 +/- 0.49 (P < 0.05). The implication of the recorded intravascular and intracellular acidosis and the decrease in PCr is that the anaerobic contribution to energy metabolism during maximal rowing corresponds to 4.47 +/- 1.8 L O(2), a value similar to that defined as the "accumulated oxygen deficit". In conclusion, during maximal rowing the intracellular acidosis, expressed as proton concentration, surpasses approximately 4-fold the intravascular acidosis, while the resting gradient is approximately 2.

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Rowing, the ultimate challenge to the human body – implications for physiological variables

Cited by 37 publications

References 28 publications

Important role of muscle carnosine in rowing performance

Important role of muscle carnosine in rowing performance

Effect of power output on muscle coordination during rowing

The intracellular to extracellular proton gradient following maximal whole body exercise and its implication for anaerobic energy production

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