+Gz tolerance in man after 14-day bedrest periods with isometric and isotonic exercise conditioning

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of isometric or isotonic exercise training on post-bedrest +Gz tolerance. Seven male volunteers, 19-22 years, underwent accelerations of +2.1 Gz (740 s), +3.2 Gz (327 s), and +3.8 Gz (312 s) in a selected, randomized order; the ramp to peak acceleration was 1.8 G/min. The centrifugation runs were terminated by loss of central vision (blackout) to a white light with a luminance of 3.15 times 10-5 log candle/cm-2 (0.092 ft-lambert). The study began with a 14-d ambulatory control period, followed by three 14-d bedrest periods (each separated by a 21-d recovery period) and then a final week of recovery. During the ambulatory periods, the subjects exercised on a bicycle ergometer at 50% of their maximal oxygen uptake (max VO2) for 1 h/d. During two of the three bedrest periods, the subjects performed in the supine position one of two routines, either isometric exercise (21% of max leg extension force for 1 min followed by 1-min rest) or isotonic exercise (68% of max VO2) for 0.5 in the morning and afternoon. During the third bedrest period, no exercise was performed. In general +Gz tolerance was reduced by 24% to 35% (p less than or equal to 0.05) after bedrest. Compared with control values, there were significant reductions in average tolerance times after bedrest with no exercise and isotonic exercise at all G levels. With isometric exercise, there was a significant decrease in tolerance at 2.1 Gz but not at 3.2 Gz or 3.8 Gz, even though the latter tolerances were reduced 15.6% and 10.0%, respectively. Both exercise regimens maintained tolerance at levels equal to or above that obtained with no exercise. Compared with control values, average tolerances were lower (p less than or equal to 0.05) after the two recovery periods between the bedrest periods (minus 24% to minus 26% at 3.2 Gz and 3.8 Gz), indicating that 3 weeks of ambulation was not sufficient time for full recovery from the deconditioning induced in this study. A prediction equation was constructed with data from all comparable studies utilizing deconditioned men riding relaxed without protective garments: Tolerance (in seconds) equals minus 334 + (1715/+Gz level). From this equation, the calculated tolerance after bedrest is 13.5 min at 1.5 G, and the point of zero tolerance is 5.1 Gz.