One-legged endurance training: leg blood flow and oxygen extraction during cycling exercise

Aim: As a consequence of enhanced local vascular conductance, perfusion of muscles increases with exercise intensity to suffice the oxygen demand. However, when maximal oxygen uptake (VO(2) max) and cardiac output are approached, the increase in conductance is blunted. Endurance training increases muscle metabolic capacity, but to what extent that affects the regulation of muscle vascular conductance during exercise is unknown. Methods: Seven weeks of one-legged endurance training was carried out by twelve subjects. Pulmonary VO(2) during cycling and one-legged cycling was tested before and after training, while VO(2) of the trained leg (TL) and control leg (CL) during cycling was determined after training. Results: VO(2) max for cycling was unaffected by training, although one-legged VO(2) max became 6.7 (2.3)% (mean ± SE) larger with TL than with CL. Also TL citrate synthase activity was higher [30 (12)%; P