Plasma catecholamine and cardiovascular reactivity during an acute high ropes course event

The primary purpose of this study was to describe physiological responses to an acute high ropes course stress. The selected dependent variables were epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), heart rate (HR), systolic/diastolic blood pressure (BPs and BPd) and self-reported anxiety. A secondary purpose was to explore possible relationships between the observed physiological responses and physical fitness. College-age males were recruited for preliminary V(O(2)) max testing to identify a high-fit and low-fit subject pool. Eleven were identified as eligible participants and gave informed consent. Six participants were in the high-fit category (V(O(2)) max>60 ml/kg) and five in the low-fit category (V(O(2)) max<42 ml/kg). The Power Pole, a common high ropes course event, was selected as the acute field-based challenge activity. During participation in the challenge, a series of five (T1-T5) 10-ml blood samples were taken (via intravenous catheter) to be analyzed for E and NE. Subjective anxiety, HR, BPs and BPd were also measured at T1-T5. When the data were analyzed in a 2 (fitness group) x 5 (time) factorial ANOVA, there was a significant main effect for time with each dependent variable. However, the only difference between fitness levels was found with HR. These results indicate that the Power Pole is an acute field-based stressor for individuals of both high and low fitness levels. Due to the lack of difference between fitness groups for all variables other than HR, we conclude that participating in the Power Pole event elicits more stress of a psychosocial nature than stress of physical exertion.