Journal of Thermal Biology 26 (2001) 365370

Acute responses of heat acclimatised cyclists to

intermittent sprints in temperate and warm conditions
J.P. Finna,b,*, J.F. Marsdena, R.J. Wooda
a

National Heat Training and Acclimatisation Centre, Northern Territory Institute of Sport, Marrara, NT 0812, Australia
b
School of Health, Education and Community Services, Northern Territory University, Darwin, NT 0909, Australia

Abstract
(1) This study describes the performance and the acute physiological responses of heat acclimatised cyclists during
three sets of 5
20 s sprints followed by a nal sprint to exhaustion in temperate (mean7standard deviation
20.270.41C; 4672% humidity, 108.571.4 kPa water vapour pressure) and in warm conditions (30.570.41C; 47710%
humidity, 206.876.4 kPa water vapour pressure). (2) Oxygen consumption was greater in the warm condition and there
was no evidence of an increased reliance on anaerobic metabolism as has been reported for submaximal exercise in the
heat. (3) Subjects lost 2.170.2% of body mass in 53.870.2 min during the warm condition. While the duration of the
time to exhaustion nal sprint was 50713 s during the warm condition it was 6077 s for the temperate condition
(p 0:020). r 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Intermittent exercise; Thermal environment; Performance; Heat acclimatisation

1. Introduction
While there has been signicant research into the
eects of warm conditions on submaximal exercise,
there has been much less eort made toward a better
understanding of its eects on intermittent high intensity
exercise. This is of some concern because of the
requirement that many athletes and persons engaged in
other physical occupations have to perform intermittent
high intensity work in elevated ambient temperatures.
For athletes, intermittent sprints characterise team
games and races where sprinting at critical times will
aord a tactical advantage. Competitive sports, such as
the professional football codes, are increasingly being
played in northern tropical Australia. In occupations
where hard physical labour is necessary, high intensity
eorts can only be sustained when interspersed with
periods of recovery. The benets of understanding
human performance and physiological responses to
*Corresponding author at: School of Health, Education and
Community Services, Northern Territory University, Darwin,
NT 0909, Australia. Tel.: +61-8-8946-6146; fax: +61-8-89466151.
E-mail address: paul.nn@ntu.edu.au (J.P. Finn).

intermittent high intensity exercise in the heat are in

the development of strategies for optimal performance
and the avoidance of thermal injury.
The ndings of the few reports published on the eect
of heat on the performance of intermittent high intensity
exercise are equivocal. Performance has variously been
unaected (Falk et al., 1998; Backx et al., 2000),
improved (Ball et al., 1999), or decreased (Maxwell
et al., 1999) in the heat. Only the last named study
investigated metabolism and the eects of hypohydration during intermittent high intensity exercise. Furthermore, the subjects in the aforementioned studies were
not heat acclimatised. An elevated ambient temperature
generally aects the performance of heat acclimatised
persons less than that of non-acclimatised individuals
(Armstrong and Maresh, 1991). Heat acclimatisation
confers the benets of decreased core temperature and
increased exercise tolerance time (Armstrong and
Maresh, 1991), lower skin temperatures, decreased
circulatory strain, and plasma volume may be better
maintained during exercise in the heat.
The aim of this study was to describe the performance
and the acute physiological responses of heat acclimatised cyclists during an intermittent sprint protocol in
warm as compared with the same exercise in temperate

0306-4565/01/$ - see front matter r 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 0 6 - 4 5 6 5 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 4 5 - 6

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J.P. Finn et al. / Journal of Thermal Biology 26 (2001) 365370

O2peak and other periods were 33% of V

O2peak peak
Fig. 1. Protocol used for the intermittent sprints. Sprints corresponded to 150% V
power or at rest. * indicates that blood lactate measures were made at these times.

conditions. The evaluation of physiological responses

was more comprehensive than that of earlier studies of
intermittent high intensity exercise to better understand
the nature of the environmental stress.

2. Materials and methods

Participants in this study diered from those in many
other investigations as they were acclimatised (adaptation occurs through living and training in the environment) as opposed to acclimated (adaptation occurs
through exposure periods in a climate chamber). Ten
subjects (mean7standard deviation, age 3476 yr; body
O2peak 3.8370.36 l min1) were
mass 73.477.0 kg; V
recruited from a Darwin (located in northern tropical
Australia) cycling club in a study that was approved by
the Northern Territory University Human Ethics
Committee. Each athlete made a total of four visits to
the laboratory. An initial familiarisation session was
conducted during which subjects pedalled the cycle
ergometer at approximate test intensities. Steady state
O2 and V
O2peak were measured during a
submaximal V
subsequent visit. During the nal two visits subjects
performed according to experimental protocols. All tests
for the same subject were conducted at the same time of
day, and on the same day of the week. Baseline measures
were made on physiological variables before each test
was conducted. Treatments consisted of an intermittent
sprint protocol on a cycle ergometer in temperate
(20.270.41C; 4672% humidity, 108.571.4 kPa water
vapour pressure) and in warm conditions (30.570.41C;
47710% humidity, 206.876.4 kPa water vapour pressure) that were administered in a randomised order.
Exercise was performed on an electromagnetically
braked Lode Excaliber ergometer (Lode BV, Groningen,
O2 was measured continuously
The Netherlands) and V
with a Medgraphics CPX/D gas analysis system
(Medical Graphics Corporation, St. Paul, MN, USA).
Power outputs for the steady state cycling were 100, 150
and 200 W. Cadences were approximately 100110 rpm.
O2peak test followed immediately with the load
The V

ramped up from 200 W by 30 W min1 to volitional

O2
exhaustion. Individual regressions of steady state V
vs. power output were extrapolated to determine sprint
O2peak : The average of these work
work rates at 150% V
rates was 536763 W. Fig. 1 illustrates the intermittent
sprint protocol beginning with a 10 min warm up, 2 min
rest and then 1 min lead in at 30% of the power
O2peak : Cadence was no more
corresponding to 150% V
than 140 rpm and the sprints consisted of three sets of
5
20 s followed by a time to exhaustion (TTE) sprint
with exhaustion dened as the inability to maintain
cadence above 60 rpm. Recovery times were 20 and 340 s
O2 was
between sprints and sets, respectively. Since V
measured continuously subjects were unable to drink
during the protocol that lasted 53.970.2 min.
Core (Tc ) and skin temperatures were monitored
using a YSI 400 Series rectal probe and skin thermistors
(YSI, Yellow Springs, OH, USA). Monitoring was
continuous and recorded pre- and post-warm-up,
immediately before and at the end of each set of ve
sprints, immediately before and at the end of the TTE
sprint, and at 5 and 10 min after the TTE sprint. Mean
skin temperatures (Tsk ) were calculated from a weighted
mean of calf, forearm and chest sites (Dawson et al.,
1994). Electronic scales (A&D Mercury, Adelaide,
Australia) were used to measure changes in body weight
with a precision of 0.02 kg. Heart rate was measured
with a Polar Vantage NV heart rate monitor (Polar
Electro Oy, Kempele, Finland) and averaged every 5 s.
Capillary blood samples were taken from a hyperaemised ear lobe pre-exercise, 3 min after each set and
5 min after the TTE sprint (Fig. 1). A YSI 2300 Stat Plus
lactate analyser (YSI, Yellow Springs, OH, USA) was
used to measure the blood lactate concentrations in the
lysed blood samples.
Statistical analyses were conducted using Statistica
(Statsoft, Tulsa, OK, USA). Comparisons between the
experimental treatments and between various points in
time were made with two-way repeated measures
ANOVA with Tukey post hoc comparisons in the event
of statistically signicant dierences (pp0:05). Dierences between conditions, dierences between sets, and

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J.P. Finn et al. / Journal of Thermal Biology 26 (2001) 365370

Table 1
O2 ), pulmonary ventilation (V
E ), heart rate (HR) and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) during each set of the
Oxygen consumption (V
5
20 s sprints (mean7standard deviation) for temperate (20.270.41C; 4672% humidity, 108.571.4 kPa water vapour pressure) and
warm (30.570.41C; 47710% humidity, 206.876.4 kPa water vapour pressure) conditions
Set 1

Set 2

Set 3

Temperate
Warm

29347341
30387340a

29637366
31167320a

28907225
30887274a

E (l min1)
V

Temperate
Warm

92712
99724

99712
108724

105713
115721

HR (beats.min1)

Temperate
Warm

15379
156713a

16179
167712a

164710
172712a

RER

Temperate
Warm

1.1670.07
1.1770.07

1.0570.04
1.0770.02

1.0570.04
1.0770.02

O2 (ml min1)
V

Signicantly dierent from the temperate condition (pp0:05)

the interaction between sets and conditions were

investigated. ANCOVA was used for comparison of
the TTE sprints, using time as the covariate, because
these sprints diered in duration between conditions.
Assumptions of correlation, homogeneity of variance
and normal distribution of within cells residuals were
veried for each ANCOVA. Students paired twosample for means t-tests were used where appropriate
for comparisons between experimental treatments.

3. Results
Two-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated that
there was a signicant condition eect for oxygen
consumption during the 5
20 s sprints with the oxygen
consumption being higher in the warm condition than in
the temperate condition (p 0:02). Post hoc analyses
revealed that the dierences between conditions existed
for each set (set 1 p 0:02; set 2 p 0:00; set 3
p 0:00). There was no signicant dierence for oxygen
consumption between sets. The ANCOVA indicated a
signicant condition eect for oxygen consumption
during the TTE sprint (p 0:00). Subjects attained the
O2 during the three sprint sets: set 1 8173,
following V
O2peak for the temperate
set 2 8073 and set 3 7875% V
condition and set 1 8372, set 2 8472, and set 3 8374%
O2peak for the warm condition. The percentage of
V
O2peak following the TTE sprints were 7878 and
V
8176% for the temperate and warm conditions,
respectively. The total oxygen consumption for the
entire protocol was 116.8716.2 and 121.0712.8 l for
temperate and warm conditions, respectively (p 0:12).
The total work for the entire exercise protocol was
497759 and 491756 kJ for the temperate and warm
conditions, respectively (p 0:03). The correlations

between total oxygen consumption and work performed

were 0.87 and 0.78 for the temperate and warm
conditions, respectively. Pulmonary ventilation (l min1)
) was greater in the warm compared to the temperate
condition for the TTE sprint (p 0:00) only. Heart
rates were higher in the warm than in the temperate
condition (p 0:02) and increased for each successive
set of 20 s sprints (p 0:00). The higher heart rate in the
warm condition occurred during each set of 20 s sprints
(p 0:00) and for the TTE sprint (p 0:00). The mean
oxygen consumption, pulmonary ventilation, heart rate
and respiratory exchange ratio during each set of the
5
20 s sprints are shown in Table 1.
The TTE sprint is not included in the aforementioned
gure as the duration diered between individuals and
between conditions for the same individuals. TTE sprint
durations were 6077 and 50713 s for temperate and
warm conditions, respectively (p 0:02).
Table 2 summarises some of the important physiological variables measured at key points during the
intermittent sprints. The skin temperature was greater
in the warm than in the temperate condition (p 0:00)
and the dierences between sets for skin temperature
varied with condition (p 0:00). Although core temperature increased for each successive set of 20 s sprints
there were no signicant dierences between the
temperate and warm conditions (p 0:20). As with
skin temperature, the dierences between sets for core
temperature varied with condition (p 0:00). Fig. 2
shows changes in core and skin temperature at various
times during the intermittent exercise protocol.
Although Fig. 2 shows no signicant change in mean
skin temperature over time, there was a drop in skin
temperature on the site adjacent to the exercising muscle
during the intermittent sprint protocol. In the temperate
condition, the skin temperature on the calf was

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J.P. Finn et al. / Journal of Thermal Biology 26 (2001) 365370

Table 2
Physiological variables pre-test, after each set and after the TTE sprint (mean7standard deviation) for temperate (20.270.41C;
4672% humidity, 108.571.4 kPa water vapour pressure) and warm (30.570.41C; 47710% humidity, 206.876.41kPa water vapour
pressure) conditions
Condition

End warm up

End 1st set

End 2nd set

End 3rd set

End TTE sprint

Skin temp. (1C)

Temperate
Warm

32.270.7
34.670.5b

32.170.8
34.170.7b

32.070.9
34.370.6b

31.671.0
34.470.6b

31.471.0
34.470.7b

Core temp. (1C)

Temperate
Warm

37.570.3
37.770.2

37.670.3
37.770.5

38.070.4
38.170.7

38.170.8
38.570.6

38.270.8
38.670.8

La (mmol l1)

Temperate
Warm

0.970.3
0.970.2

7.872.0
8.373.3

8.872.7
7.872.8

9.872.8
10.971.9

12.772.4
12.271.5

a
b

Skin temperature=(0:5
Tmanubrium )+(0:14
Tmidanteriorforearm )+(0:36
Tmidposteriorcalf ).

Signicantly dierent from the temperate condition (pp0:05).

4. Discussion

Fig. 2. Changes in core and skin temperature at various times

during the intermittent exercise protocol. T=temperate condition and W=warm condition.

signicantly less at all times following the end of the

recovery from the rst set of sprints than it was at the
end of the warm-up (po0:00). In the warm condition,
the skin temperature on the calf was signicantly less
at the end of set two (p 0:00) and set three
(p 0:00).
Peak blood lactate concentrations and respiratory
exchange ratio were measured to assess the metabolic
fuel utilisation. There were no signicant dierences
between conditions for blood lactate (p 0:74) (Table
2) or the respiratory exchange ratio (p 0:78). The
respiratory exchange ratio was greatest for the rst set of
20 s sprints and the same value during the second and
third set (Table 1).
Subjects lost 0.9370.18 and 1.5870.38 kg of mass by
the end of the exercise protocol in the temperate and
warm conditions, respectively (p 0:00). These
amounted to 1.370.1 and 2.170.2% of the pre-test
body mass for the temperate and warm conditions,
respectively.

Research interests on exercise in the heat have mainly

focused on moderate intensity, prolonged exercise. The
present study provides a comparison of intermittent
high intensity with submaximal exercise, investigates
responses in a heat acclimatised population and builds
on the limited data acquired during intermittent high
intensity exercise in the heat.
O2 was of
The metabolic rate as expressed by V
interest and importance because it has been frequently
reported for submaximal exercise in the heat and
therefore oers a comparison with intermittent high
intensity exercise in the heat. As the ergometer work rate
and the duration of the three sets of sprints were xed,
this has also implications for carbohydrate metabolism
O2 was greater for
in the heat. The observation that V
intermittent sprints in the warm compared with the
temperate condition is consistent with reports of an
O2 at any given submaximal intensity during
elevated V
exercise in the heat. Many explanations have been
O2 in the heat. One possible
proposed for an increased V
O2 in the present study
contribution to the elevated V
may have been an increased energy expenditure from
breathing as suggested by an elevated pulmonary
ventilation in the warm compared to the temperate
condition. Aaron et al. (1992) found that during heavy
O2 cost of ventilation averaged
to maximal exercise the V
2.85 ml l1. During set 3 of the present study, the
dierence in ventilation was 10 l min1, and equates to
O2 cost of 28.5 ml. This would account for
an extra V
O2 dierence measured during
only 14% of the 198 ml V
O2 cost may be due to the
this set. The remaining V
reduced inter- and intra-muscular coordination of
subjects distressed by the cumulative eects of heat
stress (Aoyagi et al., 1997), an increased energy cost
associated with the circulation for heat transport,

J.P. Finn et al. / Journal of Thermal Biology 26 (2001) 365370

increased activity of sweat glands and the caloric loss

due to sweat vaporisation (Consolazio et al., 1963).
The concept of increased carbohydrate metabolism in
the heat has been hypothesized for submaximal exercise
(Dimri et al., 1980; Young et al., 1985). To remove heat
in a warm environment, a greater increase in skin blood
ow (SBF) is required than for exercise at the same
submaximal intensity in a temperate environment. This
creates competition between skin and muscle for body
cooling and energy production, respectively, and may
prompt a shift from aerobic to anaerobic pathways
(Sawka and Wenger, 1988). Maxwell et al. (1999)
reported that during repeated 20 s sprints there was no
dierence between temperate and warm conditions for
muscle lactate, suggesting that the increased anaerobic
contribution to the energy production that may occur in
elevated ambient temperatures for submaximal exercise
does not occur during intermittent high intensity
O2 and similarities in blood
exercise. The elevated V
lactate and respiratory exchange ratio (Table 1) values
between conditions in the present study further support
this contention. Repeated 20 s bouts at a power output
O2peak may have represented a
equivalent to 150% V
near-maximal stress for anaerobic pathways at which
these subjects could still perform the required workloads
for the specied duration. Therefore, there may have
been no margin for signicant increase in the anaerobic
contribution during the warm condition.
Skin temperature depends on factors including
external environment, skin blood ow and local sweat
rate. We observed a drop in skin temperature on the calf
site during the exercise protocol. Cadence was no more
than 140 rpm during exercise and averaged around
80 rpm during recovery. This dierence in cadence
would have a minimal eect on airow across the skin.
The sum of these observations suggests that the drop in
skin temperature is a result of reduced skin blood ow
during the exercise periods, and is consistent with the
observations of Patterson et al. (1994) who used a
protocol of intense exercise and heat stress. A reduction
in skin blood ow may indicate that thermoregulatory
mechanisms are compromised to maintain muscle
activity.
Time to exhaustion during the TTE sprint was 17%
shorter in warm compared to temperate conditions. This
could have been due to either one of, or a combination
of, a number of inuences. Impairment in performance
could be associated with a reduction in central blood
volume and venous pressure due to retention of blood in
the periphery along with high skin temperature that may
have been exacerbated by dehydration. A reduced
central blood volume was supported by the gradual
increase in heart rate in both conditions which was
pronounced in the warm condition. The loss of mass in
the warm condition was 0.65 kg greater than in the
temperate condition and represented a loss of 2.170.2%

369

of the pre-test body mass. This mild level of hypohydration is typical of that experienced by persons engaged in
athletic competition or physical labour in the tropical
regions. A 2% loss in body mass from uid restriction
(Pinchan et al., 1988) or heat (Craig and Cummings,
1966) have been shown to reduce physical work capacity
in the heat. Armstrong et al. (1985) also demonstrated
decreased submaximal exercise performance following a
2% loss in body mass. However, the mass loss was
diuretic induced and a greater amount of water is drawn
from the plasma with this method (Sawka, 1988). The
present study is consistent with that of Maxwell et al.
(1999) who reported that exercise and heat stress
induced 2% loss in body mass was associated with a
reduced TTE for repeated 20 s sprints. However, when
subjects have been allowed to drink, there has been no
change in the performance of intermittent high intensity
exercise in the heat (Backx et al., 2000).
Another possible explanation for the earlier fatigue
in the warm condition is altered muscle metabolism.
While the blood lactate concentration was similar at the
end of exercise in both conditions, it was slightly
higher immediately prior to the TTE sprint (temperate
condition 9.872.8 mmol l1, warm condition 10.97
1.9 vs mmol l1), thereby reducing the time taken to
reach the limiting muscle conditions reected by
the peak post TTE sprint lactate. Elevated core or
muscle temperature could be proposed as other
reasons for the earlier fatigue in the TTE sprint
in the warm condition. While it cannot be ruled
out, it is unlikely that core temperatures were responsible when the mean Tc was only 38.61C70.81C at the
end of exercise in the warm condition. It is not valid to
assume that muscle temperature did not increase
because of the modest increase in core temperature, as
there is a considerable lag in rectal temperature
elevation. Elevated muscle temperature may therefore
be a possible factor in the reduced TTE in the warm
condition.
This paper adds to the limited number of investigations into intermittent high intensity exercise in the heat.
It has been unclear whether elevated ambient temperatures aect intermittent high intensity exercise in the
same way as the submaximal exercise is aected. There
has been limited description of the time course of
physiological variables during intermittent high intensity
exercise. This paper proposes that in heat acclimatised
individuals, an elevated oxygen consumption indicated
that there is an increased energy cost of exercise in the
heat during intermittent high intensity exercise that is in
common with submaximal exercise. However, the
increased anaerobic contribution to exercise reported
for submaximal exercise in the heat was not evident
during high intensity intermittent sprints. Mild hypohydration, equating to a 2% loss in body mass can be
induced by intermittent high intensity exercise and may,

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J.P. Finn et al. / Journal of Thermal Biology 26 (2001) 365370

in part, explain a reduction of TTE of high intensity

exercise after repeated 20 s sprints.

Acknowledgements
The assistance of Anna Travar in data collection is
gratefully acknowledged.

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