Exercise performance tests in the rat

The advantages and shortcomings of various exercise tests applied to rats are discussed. Special attention is devoted to two procedures used by our team: swimming till exhaustion in thermoindifferent water and treadmill run with recording of maximal run distance and duration. Contributions obtained in three research areas (changes of the exercise performance after treatment with various substances, modifications of biochemical and physiological parameters following exercise, endocrine, neuromotor and systemic features of training) are summarized, differences between running and swimming effects are underlined and experimental and practical prospects of these tests are outlined.