Changes in Heart Rate, Muscle Temperature, Blood Lactate Concentration, Blood Pressure, and Fatigue Perception Following Jogging and Running: An Observational Study

Abstract

Purpose To report the magnitude of changes in heart rate, muscle temperature, blood lactate concentration, blood pressure, and fatigue perception after treadmill jogging and running. Methods Eleven healthy male adults (174±7 cm, 72±10 kg) visited the laboratory twice. After a 10-minute rest each visit, subjects performed a treadmill jog (maintaining a speed of 9 km/h at a 1% incline) or a treadmill run (initially 5 km/h at a 1% incline, belt speed, and incline increased by 1 km/h and 0.5% every minute; average speed of 9 km/h). Heart rate and muscle (gastrocnemius) temperature were recorded before, during, and after the treadmill jog/run. Blood lactate concentration, blood pressure, and fatigue perception were assessed before and after. The effect of the condition over time was analysed using parametric or nonparametric tests (p≤.05) with Cohen's d effect sizes. Results There was a condition effect over time in heart rate (F1,30 =22.16, p<.0001), blood lactate concentration (χ2 =34.88, df=3, p<.0001), systolic blood pressure (F1,30 =4.18, p=.05), and fatigue perception (F1,30 =10.24, p=.003). Specifically, subjects who ran showed a higher heart rate (187 vs. 158 bpm, p<.0001, d=2.11), blood lactate concentration (11.4 vs. 3.8 mmol/L, p<.0001, d=3.39), systolic blood pressure (164 vs. 147 mmHg, p=.006, d=1.34), and fatigue perception (2.7 vs. 5.0 cm, p=.0005, d=1.46) than those who jogged. There was a time effect (F1,30=94.84, p<.0001) on muscle temperature, with a 1.5°C increase in muscle temperature after jogging/running (p<.0001, d=1.88). Conclusions While treadmill jogging and running induced a similar temperature increase in the gastrocnemius, running resulted in higher heart rate, blood lactate concentration, systolic blood pressure, and fatigue perception. These results can be used as a basis for planning warm-up protocols.

Keywords

• warm-up
• physiological responses
• treadmill run
• gastrocnemius temperature