D. Choi et al., EFFECT OF PASSIVE AND ACTIVE RECOVERY ON THE RESYNTHESIS OF MUSCLE GLYCOGEN, Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 26(8), 1994, pp. 992-996
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of passi
ve and active recovery on the resynthesis of muscle glycogen after hig
h-intensity cycle ergometer exercise in untrained subjects. In a cross
-over design, six college-aged mates performed three, 1-min exercise b
outs at approximately 130% VO2max with a 4-min rest period between eac
h work bout. The exercise protocol for each trial was identical, while
the recovery following exercise was either active (30 min at 40-50% V
O2max, 30-min seated rest) or passive (60-min seated rest). Initial mu
scle glycogen values averaged 144.2 +/- 3.8 mmol.kg(-1) w.w. for the a
ctive trial and 158.7 +/- 8.0 mmol.kg(-1) w.w. for the passive trial.
Corresponding immediate postexercise glycogen contents were 97.7 +/- 5
.4 and 106.8 +/- 4.7 mmol.kg(-1) w.w., respectively. These differences
between treatments were not significant. However, mean muscle glycoge
n after 60 min of passive recovery increased 15.0 +/- 4.9 mmol.kg(-1)
w.w., whereas it decreased 6.3 +/- 3.7 mmol.kg(-1) w.w. following the
60 min active recovery protocol (P < 0.05). Also, the decrease in bloo
d lactate concentration during active recovery was greater than during
passive recovery and significantly different at 10 and 30 min of the
recovery period (P < 0.05). These data suggest that the use of passive
recovery following intense exercise results in a greater amount of mu
scle glycogen resynthesis than active recovery over the same duration.