The effect of upper body exercise intensity and duration on post-exercise oxygen consumption

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Metabolic Responses
• Sports Science

Background:

• Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) quantifies the metabolic cost of recovery.
• Understanding EPOC's determinants is crucial for optimizing training and recovery protocols.
• Upper body exercise (UBE) presents a unique model for studying EPOC due to different muscle mass recruitment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of varying intensity and duration of UBE on EPOC.
• To compare EPOC responses between low-intensity short-duration (LS), low-intensity long-duration (LL), and high-intensity short-duration (HS) UBE protocols.

Main Methods:

• Ten healthy subjects (5 male, 5 female) performed three randomized arm-crank ergometer tests.
• Protocols included LS (35% VO2peak, 15 min), LL (35% VO2peak, 30 min), and HS (70% VO2peak, 15 min).
• Oxygen consumption and heart rate were monitored during baseline, exercise, and recovery until pre-exercise levels were reached.

Main Results:

• High-intensity short-duration (HS) UBE elicited significantly greater EPOC magnitude and duration compared to LS and LL protocols (p < 0.01).
• No significant differences in EPOC duration or magnitude were observed between LS and LL protocols.
• Heart rate at the end of EPOC was significantly higher following HS compared to LL and LS.

Conclusions:

• Exercise intensity is a more significant determinant of EPOC following UBE than exercise duration.
• The EPOC patterns observed in UBE are comparable to those reported for lower body exercise.
• These findings have implications for exercise prescription and understanding metabolic recovery.