Effect of 30C heat on the anaerobic capacity of heat acclimatised athletes

The main finding of this study was that for heat acclimatised athletes, there was no significant difference (p=0.58) in anaerobic capacity for temperate (21.8 � 0.5�C; 52 � 5% relative humidity) compared with warm conditions (29.6 � 0.5�C; 51 � 9% relative humidity). Anaerobic capacity was estimated using the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) during constant intensity cycling at 120% peak rate of O2 consumption until exhaustion. This yielded mean MAOD values of 3.3 � 0.9 and 3.5 � 1.1 L for temperate and warm conditions, respectively. Peak post-exercise lactate values of 14.7 � 3.8 and 14.4 � 4.5 mmol�L-1 for temperate and warm conditions respectively, were also not significantly different (p=0.72). Time to exhaustion (TTE) was similarly unchanged (p=0.56), being 175 � 19 and 170 � 18 s for temperate and warm conditions, respectively. These results suggest that the MAOD remains a valid test throughout environmental temperatures for the range of 20-30�C when used with heat acclimatised athletes. �Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2003).