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J Appl Physiol 92: 609-616, 2002; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00186.2001
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Vol. 92, Issue 2, 609-616, February 2002

Oxygen uptake kinetics for moderate exercise are speeded in older humans by prior heavy exercise

Barry W. Scheuermann1,2, Chris Bell1, Donald H. Paterson1, Thomas J. Barstow2, and John M. Kowalchuk1,3

1 Centre for Activity and Aging, School of Kinesiology and 3 Department of Physiology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 3K7; and 2 Department of Kinesiology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506-0302


    ABSTRACT
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

This study examined the effect of heavy-intensity warm-up exercise on O2 uptake (VO2) kinetics at the onset of moderate-intensity (80% ventilation threshold), constant-work rate exercise in eight older (65 ± 2 yr) and seven younger adults (26 ± 1 yr). Step increases in work rate from loadless cycling to moderate exercise (Mod1), heavy exercise, and moderate exercise (Mod2) were performed. Each exercise bout was 6 min in duration and separated by 6 min of loadless cycling. VO2 kinetics were modeled from the onset of exercise by use of a two-component exponential model. Heart rate (HR) kinetics were modeled from the onset of exercise using a single exponential model. During Mod1, the time constant (tau ) for the predominant rise in VO2 (tau VO2) was slower (P < 0.05) in the older adults (50 ± 10 s) than in young adults (19 ± 5 s). The older adults demonstrated a speeding (P < 0.05) of VO2 kinetics when moderate-intensity exercise (Mod2) was preceded by high-intensity warm-up exercise (tau VO2, 27 ± 3 s), whereas young adults showed no speeding of VO2 kinetics (tau VO2, 17 ± 3 s). In the older and younger adults, baseline HR preceding Mod2 was elevated compared with Mod1, but the tau  for HR kinetics was slowed (P < 0.05) in Mod2 only for the older adults. Prior heavy-intensity exercise in old, but not young, adults speeded VO2 kinetics during Mod2. Despite slowed HR kinetics in Mod2 in the older adults, an elevated baseline HR before the onset of Mod2 may have led to sufficient muscle perfusion and O2 delivery. These results suggest that, when muscle blood flow and O2 delivery are adequate, muscle O2 consumption in both old and young adults is limited by intracellular processes within the exercising muscle.

aging; heart rate; oxygen transport; oxygen utilization


    INTRODUCTION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

AGING IS ASSOCIATED WITH a slowing of pulmonary O2 uptake (VO2) kinetics during the on-transition to a step increase in work rate (WR) of moderate intensity (2, 7, 25), implying that the rate of O2 utilized at the muscle is also slowed with increasing age. Although it has been demonstrated that, for older adults, VO2 kinetics responses due to exercise in muscles that are chronically active remain similar to those of young adults (8) or speed toward values seen in young adults as a consequence of chronic exercise training (1), it is unclear whether these adaptations are a consequence of improved blood flow and/or O2 delivery or of a faster activation of the biochemical reactions in muscle, factors that have been implicated as limiting muscle O2 consumption in young adults (20, 34).

Recently, it was shown in young adults that VO2 kinetics after the start of heavy-intensity exercise became faster as a consequence of a prior "warm-up" bout of heavy-intensity exercise, whereas, in contrast, VO2 kinetics during moderate-intensity exercise were not affected by a warm-up bout of exercise (18, 23). Gerbino et al. (18) argued that the prior bout of heavy-intensity exercise acted to improve muscle perfusion (rather than activate muscle biochemical processes), which suggested that VO2 kinetics during moderate-intensity exercise were not limited by muscle perfusion or muscle O2 delivery in young adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of heavy-intensity warm-up exercise on VO2 at the onset of a moderate-intensity, constant-work-rate exercise in older adults. A group of young adults was also studied for comparison with previous publications (5, 18, 23). We hypothesized that performing prior heavy-intensity exercise would speed VO2 kinetics during a subsequent bout of moderate-intensity exercise in the old but not the young adults. This hypothesis is consistent with the view that VO2 kinetics in older adults are limited by a slower rate of blood flow redistribution and O2 delivery to the exercising muscle rather than by the rate set by the oxidative phosphorylation potential.


    METHODS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

Subjects. Eight older adults (Table 1) participated in this study. Seven young subjects (Table 1) were also studied to confirm that prior heavy exercise does not speed VO2 kinetics in healthy young subjects, which has been previously reported (18). Each subject was informed of all risks associated with participation in the experimental protocol and provided written consent. This study was approved by The University of Western Ontario Review Board for Health Sciences Research Involving Human Subjects.

                              
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Table 1.   Physical characteristics and exercise response to maximal ramp exercise in young and old subjects

All subjects were healthy, and none were taking medications known to affect the cardiorespiratory system. Each of the older subjects submitted to a medical examination, including a medical history and a 12-lead electrocardiogram before exercise testing.

Exercise protocol. Subjects were studied on seven separate occasions at approximately the same time of the day for each subject. Subjects reported to the laboratory after consuming only a light meal and abstaining from heavy exercise and beverages containing caffeine for at least 12 h preceding the test. Preliminary testing consisted of a ramp exercise test (10-25 W/min) to volitional fatigue on a electromagnetically braked cycle ergometer (model H-300-R, Lode) for the determination of the ventilatory threshold (Tvent) and peak VO2 (VO2 peak). The highest mean VO2 calculated over a 20-s duration was taken as VO2 peak. The Tvent was determined by visual inspection and defined as the VO2 at which the ventilatory equivalent for VO2 and end-tidal PO2 increased systematically with no concomitant increase in the ventilatory equivalent for CO2 output or decrease in end-tidal PCO2 (12).

From the results of the ramp test, a moderate-intensity WR was selected to elicit a VO2 equivalent to 80% of the VO2 at the Tvent, and a heavy-intensity WR was selected to elicit a VO2 corresponding to ~50% of the difference between the VO2 at Tvent and VO2 peak, i.e., Delta 50% = Tvent + [(VO2 peak - Tvent) × 0.50]. An appropriate lag time (~30-60 s) between the onset of the ramp forcing function and a discernable increase in VO2 was allowed for each subject when determining the VO2-WR relationship (13). During each visit to the laboratory, subjects performed two step transitions in WR of moderate intensity (Mod1 and Mod2), which were separated by a step increase in WR of heavy intensity (i.e., moderate-heavy-moderate-intensity exercise bouts). Exercise was performed continuously; the duration of each step transition was 6 min, with 6 min of loadless cycling between each exercise transition. The exercise protocol was performed during six visits to the laboratory, resulting in six repetitions for each subject and condition (Mod1 and Mod2). In five of the older subjects, the above protocol was modified so that the high-intensity exercise bout was preceded by two moderate-intensity exercise bouts and followed by a single bout of moderate-intensity exercise. This exercise protocol was performed to establish whether successive bouts of moderate-intensity exercise would affect VO2 kinetics in older adults.

Materials. Inspired and expired airflows were measured by using a low-resistance, low-dead-space (90 ml) bidirectional turbine and volume transducer (Alpha Technologies, VMM-110). The turbine and volume transducer signal was calibrated with a syringe of known volume (990 ml) before each test. Respired gases were sampled continuously at the mouth (1 ml/s) and analyzed for fractional concentrations of O2, CO2, and N2 by mass spectrometry (Perkin-Elmer MGA-1100). The mass spectrometer was calibrated with precision-analyzed gas mixtures before each test. Analog signals from the mass spectrometer and turbine transducer were sampled at 50 Hz and stored on computer for off-line breath-by-breath computations of VO2, CO2 output, ventilation, and end-tidal PO2 and PCO2. Gas concentrations were time aligned with inspired and expired volumes by measuring the time delay for a square-wave bolus of gas to pass from the turbine to the analysis system (i.e., mass spectrometer and sampling capillary time delays). Corrections for breath-by-breath fluctuations in lung gas stores were made in the computer algorithms (3). Temperature and water vapor corrections were made for conditions measured near the mouth. Heart rate (HR) was monitored by use of an electrocardiogram with the electrodes placed in a modified V-5 configuration.

Data analysis: curve fitting. The breath-by-breath data obtained during each step increase in WR were linearly interpolated at 1-s intervals. Each transition was time aligned and ensemble averaged to provide a single response for each subject. VO2 kinetics were determined by use of a two-component exponential model
Y(<IT>t</IT>)<IT>=</IT>BSL<IT>+</IT>Amp<SUB>1</SUB><IT>·</IT>(1<IT>−e</IT><SUP><IT>−</IT>(<IT>t−</IT>TD<SUB>1</SUB>)<IT>/&tgr;</IT><SUB>1</SUB></SUP>)<IT>+</IT>Amp<SUB>2</SUB><IT>·</IT>(1<IT>−e</IT><SUP><IT>−</IT>(<IT>t−</IT>TD<SUB>2</SUB>)<IT>/&tgr;</IT><SUB>2</SUB></SUP>)
where Y is the increase in VO2 above loadless cycling (baseline; BSL) at time t, Amp is amplitude, TD is the time delay, and tau  is the time constant. The overall time course of the response (i.e., mean response time, MRT) was calculated from a weighted sum of TD and tau  for each component
MRT<IT>=</IT>[Amp<SUB>1</SUB><IT>/</IT>(Amp<SUB>1</SUB><IT>+</IT>Amp<SUB>2</SUB>)]<IT>·</IT>(<IT>&tgr;</IT><SUB>1</SUB><IT>+</IT>TD<SUB>1</SUB>)

<IT>+</IT>[Amp<SUB>2</SUB><IT>/</IT>(Amp<SUB>1</SUB><IT>+</IT>Amp<SUB>2</SUB>)]<IT>·</IT>(<IT>&tgr;</IT><SUB>2</SUB><IT>+</IT>TD<SUB>2</SUB>)
The MRT is equivalent to the time required to achieve ~63% of the difference between BSL and the new steady-state value.

The increase in HR above loadless cycling values was small in the older group, resulting in a low signal-to-noise ratio, and, therefore, HR kinetics were estimated by using a monoexponential model starting from the onset of exercise
Y(<IT>t</IT>)<IT>=</IT>BSL<IT>+</IT>Amp<IT>·</IT>(1<IT>−e</IT><SUP><IT>−</IT>(<IT>t−</IT>TD)<IT>/&tgr;</IT></SUP>)
where Y is the increase in HR above BSL at time t. The MRT was calculated as the sum of the TD and tau . The model parameters were determined by least-squares nonlinear regression in which the best fit was defined by minimization of the residual sum of squares.

Studies that have used prior heavy-intensity exercise to speed VO2 kinetics have done so when the subsequent bout of exercise was also high intensity (i.e., above the Tvent) (18, 23). Because the purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of prior heavy exercise on VO2 kinetics during a subsequent bout of moderate-intensity exercise, linear regression analysis was used to ensure that a steady-state VO2 was achieved during 3-6 min of exercise in each subject consistent with the exercise being moderate-intensity (i.e., below the Tvent).

Statistics. The kinetic parameter estimates for VO2 and HR during moderate-intensity exercise were analyzed by using a two-way ANOVA with one repeated measure (i.e., the moderate-intensity exercise bouts) and age as the main effect. A significant F-ratio was further analyzed by using Student-Newman-Keuls post hoc analysis. Statistical significance was accepted at P < 0.05. All values are reported as means ± SE.


    RESULTS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

The physical characteristics and results of the ramp exercise test for the young and old subjects are presented in Table 1. Although the exercise protocol could only be repeated four times in one older subject because of technical difficulties, the exercise response was not appreciably different from those of the other older subjects. In the present study, VO2 and HR kinetics were compared during moderate-intensity exercise. The steady-state VO2 in this moderate domain of exercise represented 79 ± 4 and 77 ± 3% Tvent for the old and young groups, respectively, or as a %VO2 peak corresponded to 46 ± 3 (old) and 42 ± 3% (young). In addition, the slope of the VO2 response between 3 and 6 min of Mod1 and Mod2 was calculated to confirm that a steady-state VO2 had been achieved and that a slow component of VO2 that is seen during heavy exercise performed above the Tvent did not exist; the VO2 slope (3-6 min) was not different from 0 for either the old or young subjects during Mod1 (old, 2 ± 1 ml/min; young, 7 ± 4 ml/min) or Mod2 (old, 0.1 ± 2 ml/min; young, -4 ± 5 ml/min).

VO2 on-kinetics. The parameter estimates of the kinetic analysis of the VO2 response to prior warm-up exercise are summarized in Table 2. The VO2 responses for an individual young and old subject for Mod1 and Mod2 are presented in Fig. 1. The increase in VO2 above loadless cycling values (i.e., Amp1 + Amp2) was lower in the old group during both Mod1 and Mod2, consistent with the lower absolute WR. The phase 2 VO2 on-transient kinetics (tau 2) and overall on-transient kinetics (MRT) were slower in the old compared with young subjects in Mod1. In young subjects, the VO2 on-transient kinetics (i.e., tau 2 or MRT) were similar in Mod1 and Mod2. In old subjects, however, a prior bout of heavy-intensity exercise resulted in a significant speeding (P < 0.05) of VO2 on-transient kinetics (both tau 2 and MRT) during Mod2 compared with Mod1 to values similar to those observed in the young group during the on-transitions to Mod1 and Mod2.

                              
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Table 2.   Summary of parameter estimates for VO2 on-transients to cycle ergometer exercise in young and old subjects before and after heavy-intensity exercise



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Fig. 1.   Breath-by-breath response of O2 uptake for a representative young (A and C) and old (B and D) subject, with the line of best fit, to a step increase in moderate-intensity exercise before (Mod1; A and B) and after (Mod 2; C and D) a bout of heavy-intensity exercise.

To assess the role of fitness on the overall speeding of VO2 kinetics after high-intensity exercise that was observed in the older adults, the change in MRT (i.e., Delta MRT) from Mod1 to Mod2 was examined by use of linear regression analysis. As shown in Fig. 2, Delta MRT was significantly correlated (r = 0.68, P < 0.05) with fitness (as VO2 peak) in the old but not young subjects. Significance was lost when the older subject who exhibited the least improvement in MRT was included in the analysis.


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Fig. 2.   Change (Delta ) in mean response time (MRT) between Mod1 and Mod2 as a function of fitness (peak O2 uptake; VO2 peak) in older (open circle ) and younger () adults. Dashed line line represents results for linear regression analysis for all older subjects. When the older subject that showed the smallest change in MRT from Mod1 to Mod2 was excluded from the analysis, the relationship between the decrease in MRT was inversely related to fitness in the older adults.

To establish whether, in older adults, moderate-intensity VO2 on-transient kinetics were affected by a prior warm-up bout of moderate-intensity exercise, five older adults performed two consecutive bouts of moderate-intensity exercise. No differences were observed in either the Amp (i.e., Amp1 + Amp2) or on-transient kinetic responses for VO2 between the initial (Amp, 205 ± 29 ml/min; tau 2, 43.1 ± 7.3 s; MRT, 58.1 ± 4.4 s) and subsequent moderate-intensity exercise bouts (Amp, 211 ± 30 ml/min; tau 2, 52.5 ± 7.8 s; MRT, 57.6 ± 5.1 s).

HR on-kinetics. The parameter estimates for the kinetic analysis of the HR response are presented in Table 3. The individual HR responses for a young and old subject to a step increase in moderate-intensity exercise before and after a bout of heavy-intensity exercise are presented in Fig. 3. During loadless cycling before Mod1, HR was similar in the old and young subjects. The baseline HR before the start of Mod2 was elevated in the old (P = 0.06) and young subjects (P < 0.05) compared with the baseline preceding Mod1. In the older adults, the HR Amp was similar for both moderate-intensity exercise trials; the HR Amp was reduced (P < 0.05) in young adults during Mod2 compared with Mod1. The tau HR (and MRT) was similar in the old and young groups during Mod1. However, after heavy-intensity exercise, the tau HR (and MRT) for Mod2 was slowed (P < 0.05) in the old, but not young, adults.

                              
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Table 3.   Summary of parameter estimates for heart rate on-transients to cycle ergometer exercise in young and old subjects before and after heavy-intensity exercise



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Fig. 3.   Beat-by-beat response of heart rate for a representative young (A and C) and old (B and D) subject with the line of best fit, to a step increase in moderate-intensity exercise (A and B) and after (C and D) a bout of heavy-intensity exercise. bpm, Beats/min. The residuals are plotted below each on-transition to indicate goodness of fit.


    DISCUSSION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

The major new finding of the present study was that in old, but not young, adults the adaptation of pulmonary VO2 during the on-transition to moderate-intensity exercise (as determined by the VO2 phase 2 time constant, tau 2, and the MRT) became significantly faster when preceded by a bout of heavy-intensity exercise. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of speeding of VO2 kinetics at the onset of moderate-intensity exercise in healthy subjects after an acute intervention. On the basis of the data from the present study, we speculate that in healthy, older adults muscle O2 consumption may be limited by inadequate muscle perfusion and/or O2 delivery, at least initially with no prior warm-up (i.e., Mod1). However, after a bout of heavy-intensity exercise, which may improve muscle perfusion and thus provide sufficient blood flow and O2 delivery (i.e., Mod2), activation of biochemical reactions governing mitochondrial respiration determines the rate for muscle O2 consumption in old adults. In healthy, young adults with relatively fast VO2 kinetics (i.e., ~20 s), no effect was seen with prior heavy-intensity exercise (and presumably improved muscle perfusion and O2 delivery), suggesting that in this group the limitation to muscle O2 consumption may be intrinsic to the muscle.

Aging and VO2 kinetics with no prior warm-up. The slower VO2 on-transient kinetics seen in old compared with young adults during the initial bout of moderate-intensity exercise (i.e., Mod1) confirms previous observations of slowed VO2 kinetics in older adults performing moderate-intensity exercise without adequate warm-up (2, 4, 7, 8, 11, 25). Although this slower kinetic response in the elderly may be related to slower activation of key regulatory enzymes and/or slower provision of substrate to mitochondria within the active muscle units, we suggest that inadequate muscle perfusion and/or O2 delivery may limit VO2 at exercise onset under these conditions. In the present study, although baseline HR before the onset of Mod1 was similar in young and old adults, the adaptation of HR during Mod1 tended to be slower in the old (tau HR, 33 s; MRT, 36 s) than in the young (tau HR, 22 s; MRT, 18 s) adults, in agreement with others (2, 7, 14) showing significantly slower HR kinetics during cycling exercise in old compared with young adults. Although absolute HR and HR kinetics may not reflect the time course of blood flow changes to or within exercising muscle, a slower adaptation of HR may contribute to a slowed rate of increase of cardiac output [because stroke volume probably changes little from that seen during baseline cycling (~15 W)], which in turn could result in a slower adaptation of blood flow to the muscle at exercise onset in the elderly. In addition, it has been shown recently that aging is associated with a greater femoral vascular resistance and reduced femoral vascular conductance (15, 16), lower leg blood flow during dynamic exercise (28), increased sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity (15), and a reduced ability to shunt blood away from the splanchnic and renal circulations to muscle during exercise (19). Although it is not known whether the kinetics of blood flow redistribution within muscle at exercise onset are slowed with aging, these results suggest that the ability to redistribute blood flow to the active muscle units may be impaired in older adults.

An alternative possibility is that the VO2 kinetics at the onset of moderate-intensity exercise in both the old and young adults may be limited by enzyme activation and/or substrate provision within muscle. In this case, activation of biochemical reactions governing mitochondrial O2 utilization would be slower in the older adults, and this slower time course of activation would be speeded by prior heavy-intensity exercise in the older, but not young, adults as reflected by faster VO2 kinetics during Mod2 compared with Mod1. Whipp and Mahler (34) proposed that VO2 kinetics are determined by intrinsic metabolic factors governing the utilization of O2 in exercising muscle. Recently, Rossiter et al. (29a) demonstrated a close relationship between phase 2 pulmonary VO2 kinetics and the kinetics of intramuscular phosphocreatine (PCr) breakdown after the onset of moderate-intensity exercise in young adults and suggested that the use of intramuscular PCr concentration changes could serve as a proxy variable for the kinetics of muscle O2 consumption. Chilibeck et al. (6) also reported a correspondence between PCr and pulmonary VO2 kinetics in older adults, although in their study of moderate-intensity plantar-flexion exercise there was no difference comparing old and young adults in the exercise on-transient kinetics of PCr breakdown or VO2 kinetics. Also, the kinetics of PCr concentration recovery after exercise have been shown to be either similar as a function of age (6, 21) or slower in old compared with young adults (9, 24). With regard to enzyme activation and substrate provision, Timmons et al. (32) demonstrated in young adults that activation of the mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase complex before the start of exercise by administration of dichloroacetate reduced PCr breakdown and lactate accumulation, implying that the O2 deficit was reduced and that muscle O2 consumption was activated more rapidly. However, a comparison of pyruvate dehydrogenase activation and VO2 kinetics during exercise onset, to our knowledge, has not been established experimentally for any age group. In the present study, if muscle enzyme activation and/or provision of substrate were the primary limitation for muscle O2 consumption in older adults during the initial bout of moderate-intensity exercise, then faster VO2 kinetics might have been expected when moderate exercise was preceded by a bout of either moderate- or heavy-intensity exercise. As shown in this study, repeated bouts of moderate-intensity exercise did not speed VO2 kinetics in the older subjects, nor was this seen after a bout of moderate-intensity exercise in young subjects (18). Thus, although it is possible that a delayed activation of metabolic events in muscle may contribute to the slower VO2 kinetic response in the old compared with young adults of this and other studies, data from this study and from those showing that blood flow redistribution in muscle may be impaired in the elderly suggest that adaptation of muscle blood flow and/or O2 transport may limit muscle O2 utilization during moderate-intensity exercise in old adults, at least when exercise is initiated without adequate warm-up.

Aging and VO2 kinetics after prior heavy-intensity warm-up. The VO2 on-transient kinetics during moderate-intensity exercise (i.e., Mod2) became faster after a bout of heavy-intensity exercise in old, but not young, adults. That VO2 kinetics in young adults were not affected by a prior bout of heavy exercise has been demonstrated previously (5, 18). However, the speeding of pulmonary VO2 on-transient kinetics after a prior bout of heavy-intensity warm-up exercise, to our knowledge, has not been previously seen in apparently healthy, older adults, although speeding of pulmonary VO2 kinetics was seen in cardiac transplant recipients performing two bouts of moderate-intensity exercise (26), and in sedentary older adults with resting left ventricular diastolic dysfunction performing moderate-intensity exercise after a 4-h treatment with the Ca2+-channel blocker verapamil (27). If, as suggested by Gerbino et al. (18), muscle perfusion and/or muscle O2 delivery is improved after a prior bout of heavy-intensity exercise, then the speeding of VO2 kinetics during the second bout of moderate exercise (i.e., Mod2) may be related to improved perfusion within muscle before the start of Mod2 but independent of the adaptation of blood flow and O2 delivery during the exercise transient. The higher baseline HR immediately before the onset of Mod2 (HR of 94 beats/min) compared with Mod1 (HR of 84 beats/min) in this study suggests that cardiac output (and perhaps muscle blood flow) was elevated before the start of the second moderate-intensity exercise bout. Thus, after the onset of Mod2, compared with conditions existing before Mod1, an already elevated muscle blood flow and O2 transport may have been adequate to support the requirements for the exercise-induced increase in mitochondrial respiration and would not be influenced by the additional but slower 10 beats/min increase in HR. In this instance, with adequate blood flow and O2 transport before the start of Mod2, activation of muscle O2 consumption at the onset of moderate-intensity exercise in old (and young) subjects may then be limited by activation of biochemical reactions governing mitochondrial O2 utilization. If HR kinetics reflect O2 delivery to the working muscle, independent of the absolute cardiac output, then the slower HR kinetics seen in Mod2 in the older adults might predict a further slowing of VO2 kinetics in the older adults. Despite the slowed HR kinetics, pulmonary VO2 kinetics were speeded during Mod2 (relative to Mod1) in the older adults, consistent with the view that biochemical processes within the muscle limits the rate of O2 utilization at the onset of exercise. In support of this view, Yoshida et al. (35) reported a speeding of VO2 kinetics during repeated bouts of single-leg cycle ergometer exercise that was independent of cardiac output and HR kinetics. However, baseline values for both cardiac output and HR preceding each subsequent bout of exercise appeared to be higher, thereby allowing for adequate muscle perfusion before the onset of each subsequent exercise bout. Determination of the actual limiting factor for muscle O2 consumption during the two bouts of moderate-intensity exercise in old and young adults requires additional testing.

Effect of fitness on the speeding of VO2 kinetics. Babcock et al. (1) demonstrated that endurance training in old adults can lead to faster VO2 kinetics at the onset of moderate-intensity exercise that approach values seen in healthy young adults. Also, Chilibeck et al. (7) reported that cardiorespiratory fitness was the most significant predictor of VO2 kinetics (followed by age) in a large group of elderly subjects. Together, these data suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness rather than age per se may determine VO2 kinetics. As shown in Fig. 2, the decrease in MRT from Mod1 to Mod2 was significantly correlated with fitness (as VO2 peak) in the older adults. Those older adults having the higher VO2 peak values 1) had VO2 kinetics for the initial exercise bout (i.e., Mod1) that approached values seen in the young adults and 2) did not demonstrate a marked speeding of VO2 kinetics after the bout of high-intensity exercise. Also, those subjects who had slowest VO2 kinetics during the initial exercise bout demonstrated the greatest improvement (i.e., speeding) in VO2 kinetics as a consequence of the prior bout of heavy-intensity exercise. These observations are consistent with poor cardiorespiratory fitness, rather than chronological age per se, being a contributing factor to the slowing of VO2 kinetics in the elderly. The role of cardiorespiratory fitness vs. aging in the speeding of VO2 kinetics after a bout of heavy-intensity exercise awaits further investigation in a significantly larger group of subjects with a wider range of ages and fitness levels.

HR kinetics. Baseline HR before the start of Mod1 was similar in old and young adults. After the onset of Mod1, the increase in HR above baseline was lower in old compared with young subjects, whereas the time constant (tau ) for heart kinetics tended to be slower in old compared with young adults. HR kinetics in old adults have been shown to be either slower (8, 11) or similar to (2, 7, 14) those of young adults. Although statistical significance for HR kinetics was not achieved in the present study, perhaps explained by the large intersubject variability observed in this and other studies (e.g., Ref. 7), the tendency for slower HR kinetics in the older group during Mod1 (tau , ~10 beats/min; MRT, ~20 beats/min) may be physiologically significant with respect to the time course of blood flow adaptation in the older adults. The smaller increase in HR observed in the old compared with the young adults performing the same relative exercise intensity was expected during dynamic exercise (8, 22, 30) and may reflect an age-related reduction in either resting cardiac vagal tone (31) or beta -adrenergic-receptor sensitivity (10, 33).

The further slowing of HR kinetics during the on-transient of the subsequent moderate-intensity exercise bout (Mod2) in the old but not the young adults is reflective of further changes in the autonomic control of HR with aging. The higher baseline HR in the old group before Mod2 is consistent with reduced parasympathetic control (17, 29). If parasympathetic control is diminished before the onset of a subsequent bout of exercise, then slower HR kinetics would be expected because the predominant factor regulating the increase in HR will be via activation of the slower sympathetic system (17). Furthermore, in young adults, high-intensity exercise resulted in an elevated HR before the onset of Mod2 but did not alter HR kinetics. These discrepant HR responses between old and young adults emphasize the change in balance between parasympathetic and sympathetic tone that occurs with advancing age.

In conclusion, the major finding of the present study was that the adjustment of VO2 after the onset of moderate-intensity exercise became faster in old, but not young, adults after a prior bout of heavy-intensity exercise. The results of the present study indicate that, in the absence of adequate warm-up exercise, pulmonary VO2 kinetics are slower in old compared with young adults, which may be a consequence of a slower rate of muscle blood flow redistribution and/or O2 delivery within the exercising muscle of the older adult, although the alternate possibility of a slower rate of activation of metabolic enzymes and substrate provision cannot be discounted. After a warm-up bout of heavy-intensity exercise in old, but not young, adults, pulmonary VO2 kinetics were speeded and were similar to values seen in young adults. In this instance, with adequate muscle perfusion and O2 delivery (as reflected by the elevated baseline HR), the limitation to muscle O2 consumption in both old and young adults may reside within the muscle at the level of biochemical processes controlling O2 utilization.


    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank the participants who took part in this study. The technical support offered by Brad Hansen and Timothy Wilson was greatly appreciated.


    FOOTNOTES

Financial support was provided to J. M. Kowalchuk by an operating grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). B. W. Scheuermann was supported by a NSERC Doctoral Fellowship. This research was carried out at The Centre for Activity and Aging (affiliated with the Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Kinesiology and the Faculty of Medicine at The University of Western Ontario and The Lawson Research Institute at the St. Joseph's Health Centre).

Present address of B. W. Scheuermann: Dept. of Kinesiology, 8 Natatorium, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506-0302.

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: J. M. Kowalchuk, Centre for Activity and Aging, School of Kinesiology, Univ. of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6A 3K7 (E-mail: jkowalch{at}uwo.ca).

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

10.1152.japplphysiol.00186.2001

Received 23 February 2001; accepted in final form 5 October 2001.


    REFERENCES
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES

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J APPL PHYSIOL 92(2):609-616
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