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Int J Sports Med 1990; 11(4): 273-278
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-1024806
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Effects of Warm-Up on Blood Gases, Lactate and Acid-Base Status During Sprint Swimming

R. A. Robergs, D. L. Costill, W. J. Fink, C. Williams, D. D. Pascoe, J. Chwalbinska-Moneta, J. A. Davis
  • Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306
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Publication Date:
14 March 2008 (online)

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Abstract

A standardized 200-m front crawl sprint swim (SpS) was used to evaluate the effects of warm-up on pH, blood gases, and the concentrations of lactate ([La-]) and bicarbonate ([HCO3-]) in arterialized and venous blood. Eight trained male swimmers performed two randomly assigned 200-m front crawl swims at previously determined intensities corresponding to 120% V̇O2max. One swim was preceded by a warm-up (WU trial) which consisted of a 400-m front crawl swim (82% V̇O2max), 400-m flutter kicking (45% V̇2max), and 4 × 50-m front crawl sprints (111% V̇2max). The second was performed without warm-up (NWU trial). Blood was sampled from a hyperemized earlobe and an antecubital vein before the warm-up, 9 min after the warm-up (1 min before the swim), immediately following the SpS, and at 2, 5, 10, and 20 min after the SpS. The warm-up exercise resulted in a higher pre-SpS [La-] in arterialized blood (3.1±0.4 and 1.7 ± 0.4 mmol × 1-1, p < 0.05), a higher hydrogen ion concentration ([H+]) in venous blood (45.9 ± 0.9 and 42.2 ± 0.8 nmol × 1-1, p < 0.001), and a lower arterialized blood [HCO3-] (25.1 ± 0.9 and 22.2 ± 0.8 mmol × 1-1, p < 0.05). The SpS was accompanied with higher heart rates during the WU trial (178 ± 3 and 169 ± 3 bpm; p < 0.05). After the SpS the absolute [La-] in arterialized blood was lower in the WU trial at 2 min of recovery (10.7 ± 0.6 and 12.8 ± 0.8 mmol × 1-1, p < 0.05). However, during the WU trial the increase in blood La (ΔLa) caused by the SpS was significantly lower at each stage for both blood compartments. Venous blood pCO2 was lower in the WU trial after the SpS (71.5 ± 3.0 and 78.4 ± 2.7 mmHg; p < 0.05), and the [H+ ] in venous blood was lower in the WU trial until 5 min of recovery (p < 0.05). These results indicate that warm-up exercise can reduce the disturbance in blood acid-base balance during 2 min of intense swimming. It is proposed that the acid-base differences resulted from increased oxidative energy metabolism and a subsequent reduction in lactate and CO2 production.

Key words

Hydrogen ion concentration - carbon dioxide - bicarbonate - hyperemia

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