Artuso P¹

1, Mapei Sport, Olgiate Olona, Varese, Italy

A particular kind of low cadence interval training has been developed over the last 25 years. Contrasting results are present in the literature regarding its effects on performance (Kristoffersen et al., 2014  5  34 Frontiers In Physiology; Nimmerichter et al.,2012: Eur J Appl Physiol, 112 (1), 69-78).To compare two different forms of training (that is low cadence versus high cadence) we looked at the physiological and perceptual responses (HR, VO₂, Lactate, RPE, tissues oxygenation and de-oxygenation) to cycling exercise and monitored the post exercise acute effects on the neuromuscular functions. Both central and peripheral asses by trans-cutaneous electrical stimulations. A group of cyclists performed, in two separate occasions, either a low (35 rpm, SFR) cadence or high (115 rpm, HC) cadence interval training (IT) sessions consisting of  8×4 min with 2 min of recovery. The two training sessions were completed at the same relative workload (W). SFR determined lower (p<0.05) physiological responses to exercise than HC but with the similar RPE. However, despite the neuromuscular function elicited by the two conditions being similar, few parameters regarding the peripheral neuromuscular properties did not fully recover 20 min after the end of the exercise in SFR. In particular the peak torque of the evoked single twitch remained lower at 20 min post training. In conclusion the SFR training induce lower physiological stress  of HC  but SFR may cause more neuromuscular fatigue than HC.

Comunicazione World Congress of Cycling Science, Leeds 2014

‘The Science Behind The Tour de France’.