1H NMR urinary metabolomic analysis in recreational athletes: Impact of physical exercise, high intensity interval training and whole body cryostimulation.

Abstract

Introduction: Physical exercise induces various metabolic changes, influencing energy expenditure and substrate utilization. Metabolomics provides a comprehensive understanding of the metabolic adaptations occurring in response to physical exercise and recovery. This study aimed to investigate metabolic adaptations in recreational athletes by analyzing the urine metabolome following a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program with or without repeated cryotherapy recovery.

Method: In this study, urine metabolomics with ¹H NMR spectroscopy was used to investigate the impact of sub-maximal cycling bout (SMC) at 60 % of power aerobic peak on urine metabolome before and after 4 weeks HIIT with or without cryostimulation recovery (WBC, N = 11; CTL, N = 12).

Results: PCA analysis revealed a distinct separation between the urine NMR profiles of the WBC and the CTL groups induced by SMC. Targeted analyses showed no significant metabolic differences before SMC. However, post-SMC analysis revealed marked changes in lactate, acetate, acetone, urea, formate, citrate and adenine levels. The training program amplified these metabolic alterations in both groups. The WBC group exhibited significant changes in alanine, acetone and 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid, while the CTL group showed alterations in citrate.

Conclusion: SMC triggers a variety of metabolic changes that reflect the body's efforts to maintain energy balance under stress. When combined with WBC, HIIT further enhances these adaptations, improving glycolytic capacity, fat metabolism, and the regulation of energy homeostasis.