Differences in cardiorespiratory responses of young and senior male endurance athletes to maximal graded exercise test.

Within recent years the popularity of sportive activities amongst older people, particularly competitive activities within certain age groups has increased. The purpose of this study was to assess the differences in the cardiorespiratory output at anaerobic threshold and at maximal power, output during an incremental exercise, among senior and young athletes. Ten elderly male subjects [mean (SD) age: 68.45 ± 9.32 years] and eight young male subjects [mean (SD) age: 25.87 ± 5.87 years] performed an incremental exercise test on a treadmill ergometer. No significant differences in body size were evident; however, the differences between the groups for peak power (451.62 ± 49 vs. 172.4 ± 32.2 W), aerobic capacity (57.97 ± 7.5 vs. 40.36 ± 8.6 mL kg-1 min-1), maximal heart rate (190.87 ± 9.2 vs. 158.5 ± 9.1 beats min-1), peak blood lactate (11 ± 1.7 vs. 7.3 ± 1.4 mmol L-1), and % VO2max at ventilatory thresholds (93.18 ± 4.3 vs. 79.29 ± 9.9%) were significantly lower in the senior athletes. The power output at anaerobic threshold was also higher (392 ± 48 vs. 151 ± 23 W) in the young athletes, explaining the significant difference in terms of performance between these groups. We have observed an evident deterioration in some of the cardiovascular parameters; however, the submaximal exercise economy seems to be preserved with aging. Exercise economy (i.e. metabolic cost of sustained submaximal exercise) was not different considerably with age in endurance-trained adults.

Physiological adaptations to specific endurance training in professional female handball players.

Several Hungarian and foreign researchers have already studied the cardiorespiratory parameters of elite handball players. There are only a few studies though, which would separately review the changes in the functions of different organ systems. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of an intervention (physical activity) on the cardiorespiratory system. In this study, 16 elite female handball players participated, whose body compositions were measured and took two vita maxima tests. During the analysis, each cardiorespiratory parameter was monitored for every 20 s. Between the two examinations, 6 weeks passed and an intervention took place. There was a significant decrease in relative body fat and a significant increase in relative muscle mass. Remarkable positive changes occurred in the values of ventilation, oxygen pulse, and in both absolute and relative aerobic capacities as well. The mean values of the team developed as expected, but the individual changes in body composition and cardiorespiratory parameters are just as important. First, we chose four players, who had the most outstanding changes. Second, we analyzed such parameters, which were expected to show adequate results in terms of the apparatus(es) functioning.

Characteristics of cardiorespiratory output determining factors among 11-19-year-old boys at rest and during maximal load: Its impact on systolic hypertension.

As consequence of the expansion of sedentary lifestyle among schoolchildren the prevalence of particular symptoms related to decreased cardiorespiratory fitness increases. The purpose of this study was twofolds, on one hand to compare boys in three developmental groups: second childhood (G1), puberty (G2), young adult (G3) and on the other hand to compare groups classified on resting systolic blood pressure (RSBP) to differentiate cardiorespiratory output determining factors both at rest and at maximal load. Randomly selected apparently healthy boys were assessed, all subjects (n = 282) performed an incremental treadmill test until fatigue. Heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and oxygen consumption were measured. Resting HR was higher and resting SBP and DBP were lower in the G1 as compared to G2 and G3 (p < 0.05) but not differed at maximal loads. However indicators of cardiovascular load differed between groups. The oxygen pulse and Q were the lowest in the G1 and increased significantly between groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion based on our data we can suggest that there is an observable development of hypertension associated with maturation and cardiac output determining factors.

The redox-associated adaptive response of brain to physical exercise.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are continuously generated during metabolism. ROS are involved in redox signaling, but in significant concentrations they can greatly elevate oxidative damage leading to neurodegeneration. Because of the enhanced sensitivity of brain to ROS, it is especially important to maintain a normal redox state in brain and spinal cord cell types. The complex effects of exercise benefit brain function, including functional enhancement as well as its preventive and therapeutic roles. Exercise can induce neurogenesis via neurotrophic factors, increase capillarization, decrease oxidative damage, and enhance repair of oxidative damage. Exercise is also effective in attenuating age-associated loss in brain function, which suggests that physical activity-related complex metabolic and redox changes are important for a healthy neural system.

Comparison of running performances and prevalence of overweight and obesity in Hungarian and Ukrainian adolescents.

The 20-m shuttle run (20-mSRT) is a widely used field test to estimate peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) and thus to assess aerobic fitness of adolescents (11). The purpose of this study was to analyse differences in basic anthropometric measurements (stature, body mass, percent body fat, BMI) and in aerobic fitness of Hungarian and Ukrainian adolescent boys and girls. We examined gender differences in maximal speed (km h-1), in peak VO2 (mL kg-1 min-1) and maximal heart rate (HRmax min-1). Two hundred ninety-two Ukrainian (mean age=16.5±0.5) and 374 (mean age=16.5±0.5) Hungarian adolescents volunteered to participate in this study. Differences were analysed using factorial analysis of the variance (ANOVA) and Student's t-test. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Hungarian boys and girls were significantly taller, heavier and had higher percent body fat than their Ukrainian counterparts. Altogether 10% of Hungarians and 7% of Ukrainians were classified overweight or obese according to Cole's BMI classification (4). VO2peak of Ukrainians (mean=49.44±5.29 mL kg-1 min-1) were significantly higher than that of Hungarians (mean=41.93±8.40 mL kg-1 min-1). Maximal heart rate also differed significantly (Ukrainians mean=201.12±8.43 min-1 vs. Hungarians mean=185.38±18.38 min-1).In conclusion, aerobic fitness of the Ukrainian adolescents was significantly higher than that of the Hungarians independently of BMI or gender.