Document Type

Presentation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: During the first few minutes of high intensity exercise, the body relies on the glycolytic system for energy. Abyproduct of this system is lactic acid, or blood lactate. As blood lactate levels increase in the muscles, muscle contraction and energy output decreases as a result ofoverall elevated acidity. Therefore, an athlete in successive high intensity events may be interested in supplementation that could rid the body more quickly of blood lactate. Onesupplement that might be beneficial in this task is Arginine, a common pre-workout vasodilator. PURPOSE: To determine what effects Arginine, a vasodilator, had on blood lactate removal after high intensity exercise. METHODS: 5 male UT Arlington students (M; age 22 ±0.4 yrs, weight 82.28 ±14.016 kg, height 177.8 ±5.08 cm) agreed to participate in the study. The experimental setup was a single blind study, so the participants were not aware of which mixture they were receiving, but the researchers did. Uponentering the lab for testing, an initial blood lactate measure was taken, the first of four to be taken each testing session. A 20-minute timer was set after the measurement, during which the participant drank either the placebo or supplement drink within the first five minutes, and other physiological measurements were taken during that time (blood pressure, resting heart rate). Once the initial 20 minutes concluded, a second blood lactate measure was taken, and participants immediately performed the formulatedWingate protocol. At the conclusion of exercise, another 20-minute timer was started, and blood lactate was measured at the 5-minute and 20-minute mark. Each testing session took around 50 minutes, and each participant tested 2 days. At the conclusion of research, t-tests were performed and conclusions were made. RESULTS: At the 5-minute post-Wingate mark, blood lactate levels had very little variation, with the Arginine group averaging 13.94 mmol/L, and the placebo group averaging 14.0 mmol/L. However, at the 20-minute post testing mark, blood lactate levels with the Arginine group had dropped to an average of 11.56 mmol/L, while the placebo group levels continued hovering around 14.24 mmol/L. A t-test calculated that there was no significant difference (p= 0.243), with p being larger than the set alpha level (p> 0.05). Other variables tested included peak power (Arginine: 749.1 ±84.7 watt; Placebo: 729.2 ±76.4 watt), peak power / body mass (Arginine: 8.97 ±0.98 watt/kg; Placebo: 8.83 ±1.42 watt/kg), mean power (Arginine: 588.4 ±60.18 watt; Placebo: 555.43 ±50.90 watt), and mean power / body mass (Arginine: 7.08 ±0.60 watt/kg; Placebo: 6.73 ±0.81 watt/kg). Preformed t-tests calculated that these findings did not qualify as significantly different, either (p> 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our calculations indicated that while there was an observable decrease of blood lactate levels with Arginine supplementation, the decrease was not statistically significant. Furthermore, variables such as peak power and mean power differed between supplementation, but nottosignificant levels.

Disciplines

Kinesiology | Life Sciences

Publication Date

1-1-2016

Download

Included in

Kinesiology Commons

Share

COinS