Recovery of the torque-velocity relationship after short exhausting cycling exercise

Abstract

The effects of fatigue upon the torque-velocity (T-ω) relationship in cycling were studied in 11 subjects. Fatigue was induced by short exhausting exercise, on a cycle ergometer, consisting of 4 all-out sprints without recovery. The linear (T-ω) relationship was determined during each all-out sprint, before, during and after the exhausting exercise. The kinetics of the T-ω relationship had permitted the study of the recovery of optimal torque, optimal velocity and their corresponding maximal power outputs (P _max), 30 s or 1 min after the short exhausting exercise. Fatigue induced a parallel shift to the left of the T-ω relationship which was partly reversed by a parallel shift to the right during recovery. After 30 s recovery optimal velocity, optimal torque and P _max were slightly lower than the corresponding values before the exhausting exercise; after 1-min optimal velocity and optimal torque had recovered 99% and 97% of their initial values. These mechanical data suggested that the causes of exhaustion were processes that allowed fast recovery of both optimal velocity and optimal torque.