The impact of warm-up intensity and duration on maximal effort limited cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters in healthy young adults.

Abstract

The impact of warm-up protocols on peak oxygen uptake (V̇O_2-PEAK) during cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) remains unclear. This study investigated the effect of warm-ups of different durations and intensities on V̇O_2-PEAK in healthy young adults during maximal-effort CPET cycle ergometry. Recreationally active participants (10 males, 4 females; 27 ± 4 years) performed five CPETs, each preceded by one of five randomized conditions: (i) no warm-up (NWU), (ii) short duration / low intensity (SD/LI) warm-up (5 min at 0.5 W/kg), (iii) long duration / low intensity (LD/LI) warm-up (10 min at 0.5 W/kg), (iv) short duration / moderate intensity (SD/MI) warm-up (5 min at 1 W/kg), and (v) a long duration / moderate intensity (LD/MI) warm-up (10 min at 1 W/kg). No significant differences were found in V̇O_2-PEAK, peak heart rate, maximal or submaximal power output across the different warm-up protocols (p > 0.05 for all comparisons), except for greater absolute HR and power output observed at the first ventilatory threshold (VT1) following SD/MI vs. NWU (p < 0.05). Participant ratings of warm-up protocols indicated a preference for shorter and/or lower-intensity warm-ups. Among healthy young adults, the inclusion of warm-up exercise prior to CPET has no significant effects on maximal exercise parameters. These findings question the necessity of warm-up prior to CPET and provide flexibility in CPET warm-up protocol selection in this population. Recapitulation of this study in alternative clinical and scientific populations is warranted.