{"title":"Dehydration certainly affects gross motor skills, but what about fine motor skills such as postural balance?","authors":"Thierry Paillard, Julien Maitre, Frédéric Noé","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05994-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05994-w","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145074772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Effects of 8-week ischemic preconditioning on swimming performance and power output in male 100-m freestyle swimmers: a randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Wenwei Yang, Ziyue Ou, Guoqin Xu, Shibin Zheng, Xinying Bo, Xu Yan, Weiwei Huang","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05982-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05982-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to investigate the long-term effects of an 8-week ischemic preconditioning (IPC) intervention on the athletic performance of male freestyle swimmers.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eighteen male 100-m freestyle swimmers were randomly assigned to either the IPC group (n = 9) or the sham operation group (n = 9), with interventions administered three times per week over the course of 8 weeks. Athletic performance was evaluated through 100-m freestyle race tests and Wingate 30-s tests at baseline, at the 4th week, and at the 9th week. The data were analyzed via two-way repeated-measures ANOVA.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After 8 weeks of intervention, the IPC group demonstrated significantly improved performance in the 100-m race compared with the placebo group (57.57 ± 2.30 vs. 59.90 ± 2.30, p = 0.048, d = 1.01). The enhancement in the second half of the 100-m performance was more pronounced in the IPC group than in the placebo group (30.15 ± 1.00 vs. 32.32 ± 1.97, p = 0.009, d = 1.39). Significant increases in peak power (817.27 ± 144.77 vs. 674.93 ± 54.75, p = 0.014, d = 1.30), mean power (679.60 ± 85.12 vs. 541.64 ± 78.33, p = 0.003, d = 1.69), and blood lactate levels (16.07 ± 1.22 vs. 14.7 ± 0.97, p = 0.018, d = 1.24) were detected. Conversely, a significant decrease was noted in the fatigue index (51.28 ± 6.20 vs. 60.34 ± 10.60, p = 0.042, d = 1.04) and time to peak (2942.67 ± 1782.08 vs. 4758.00 ± 1830.71, p = 0.049, d = 1.00).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>An 8-week IPC intervention can effectively enhance the athletic performance of freestyle swimmers, potentially by improving anaerobic power output and delaying fatigue, as measured by the Wingate 30 s test. This finding suggests a novel intervention strategy for swim training.</p>","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145074703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anna Taboni, Caterina Barilari, Giovanni Vinetti, Nazzareno Fagoni, Guido Ferretti
{"title":"Reply to the letter to the Editor on \"Energy balance analysis suggests that lactate is not a direct cause of the slow component of oxygen uptake kinetics\".","authors":"Anna Taboni, Caterina Barilari, Giovanni Vinetti, Nazzareno Fagoni, Guido Ferretti","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05985-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05985-x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145074685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erick Mosquera-Lopez, Julien Louis, Jason P Edwards, Jamie Pugh, Mark R Viggars, Daniel J Owens, Jose L Areta
{"title":"Acute nutritional ketosis during early recovery from aerobic exercise does not affect skeletal muscle transcriptomic response in humans.","authors":"Erick Mosquera-Lopez, Julien Louis, Jason P Edwards, Jamie Pugh, Mark R Viggars, Daniel J Owens, Jose L Areta","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05987-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05987-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Nutritional ketosis is purported to enhance skeletal muscle recovery and adaptation to exercise, yet precise adaptive mechanisms are unknown. We investigated the post-exercise molecular response to ketone monoesters (KME) in skeletal muscle by characterising the early transcriptomic response.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Following a randomised, double-blind, crossover design, recreationally active men (n = 9, age: 26 ± 5 (means ± SD) y; V̇O<sub>2max</sub>: 47 ± 4 mL·kg<sup>-1</sup>·min<sup>-1</sup>) completed two experimental trials where they ingested either 1.25 g·kg<sup>-1</sup> of KME or a taste-matched placebo (PLA) drink during exercise (90-min cycling at 60% of V̇O<sub>2max</sub>) and 3-h recovery. Blood samples were taken throughout for hormone and metabolite analyses, and muscle biopsies were taken at baseline and 3 h post-exercise for glycogen and genome-wide gene expression analyses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Recovery ßHB concentrations were higher in KME (4.1 ± 0.7 mM) vs PLA (0.1 ± 0.0 mM, P < 0.001). Erythropoietin (EPO) showed a main effect of time (P = 0.044), but no condition effect (P = 0.087) or interaction (P = 0.318). Skeletal muscle glycogen decreased post-exercise (-57%, P < 0.001) as expected, but showed no condition effect (P = 0.889) or interaction (P = 0.907). We measured the expression of 16,898 genes, and despite a clear time effect on the skeletal muscle transcriptome (1561 differentially expressed genes post vs pre-exercise; q < 0.05 fold change > ± 1.5), there was no effect of condition.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>KME did not demonstrate an effect on EPO concentration, muscle glycogen or transcriptome, suggesting DNA translation is likely not a process directly regulated by acute ketonaemia that increases early post-exercise.</p>","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145074748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Blood flow restriction modulates common drive to motor units and force precision: implications for neuromuscular coordination.","authors":"Chia-Chan Wu, Yen-Ting Lin, Yueh Chen, Yi-Ching Chen, Ing-Shiou Hwang","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05974-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05974-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Blood flow restriction (BFR) is a resistance training technique that enhances muscle adaptation and strength gains under hypoxic conditions. However, its impact on motor unit (MU) coordination remains unclear. This study investigated how BFR influences intra- and inter-muscular common drives to MUs in two functional agonists during a static precision pinch task.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Eighteen adults (23.9 ± 1.3 years; nine men, nine women) performed a thumb-index finger precision pinch under BFR and non-BFR conditions, while force fluctuation dynamics and MU activities in the flexor pollicis brevis (FPB) and first dorsal interosseous (FDI) were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results revealed a significant reduction in maximal voluntary contraction following BFR application (p = 0.003). In addition, BFR significantly increased force fluctuations (p = 0.007), potentiated discharge variability (p = 0.018), and strengthened force-discharge coupling specifically in the FPB (p = 0.010). BFR increased the mean recruitment threshold of motor units in the FDI (p < 0.001), but not in the FPB (p > 0.05) during finger precision pinch. Intra-muscular common drive increased within the FDI (p < 0.001) and FPB (p < 0.001), whereas inter-muscular common drive between agonist MUs decreased (p < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>BFR application disrupts force precision stability and neuromuscular coordination between functional agonists during precision pinch. It increases global discharge variability and intra-muscular MU synchrony. However, the resulting force fluctuations are only partially compensated by reduced inter-muscular MU synchrony, offering limited coordination flexibility among agonists.</p>","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145074707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kyung-Mi Park, Olga Kim, Eun Young Seo, Duguma Teshome Gemechu, Song Joo Lee
{"title":"Age-related differences in pivoting neuromuscular control during a stepping task.","authors":"Kyung-Mi Park, Olga Kim, Eun Young Seo, Duguma Teshome Gemechu, Song Joo Lee","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05986-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05986-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Age-related physiological changes affect neuromuscular control, potentially increasing functional limitations and fall risk among older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate how age affects various aspects related to pivoting neuromuscular control during stepping tasks, such as stepping speed, pivoting instability, and entropy of time to peak electromyography (EMG) in lower extremity muscles.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-three healthy individuals (12 young and 11 older) participated in this study. Participants performed stepping tasks on a modified stepper that allowed pivoting motion, defined as rotational movement in the transverse plane at the knee joint (i.e., tibial rotation relative to the femur). When performing stepping tasks while controlling a pivoting motion, stepping speeds, pivoting instability, and entropy of time to peak EMG of lower extremity muscles were assessed and compared between young and older groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The older group showed significantly lower stepping speed (p < 0.05), greater pivoting instability (p < 0.05), and higher entropy of time to peak EMG (p < 0.05), compared to the young group.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Older adults exhibited lower ability in pivoting neuromuscular control compared with the young individuals during the stepping task. These findings may enhance our understanding of the potential risk factors for injury associated with age-related differences in pivoting neuromuscular control.</p>","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145074737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Macarena Artigas-Arias, Rodrigo Muñoz-Cofre, Nicolás Vidal-Seguel, Andrea Alegría-Molina, Jorge Sapunar, Rui Curi, Gabriel Nasri Marzuca-Nassr
{"title":"Resistance exercise training similarly improves work efficiency and measured submaximal oxygen consumption during the 6-min walk test in healthy postmenopausal women and breast cancer survivors.","authors":"Macarena Artigas-Arias, Rodrigo Muñoz-Cofre, Nicolás Vidal-Seguel, Andrea Alegría-Molina, Jorge Sapunar, Rui Curi, Gabriel Nasri Marzuca-Nassr","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05966-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05966-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This exploratory study aimed to examine the potential effects of a 12-week progressive whole-body resistance exercise training (RET) program on measured submaximal oxygen consumption (submaximal VO<sub>2</sub>) and work efficiency during the 6-min walk test (6MWT) in healthy postmenopausal women and breast cancer survivors.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Twenty-four postmenopausal women (Healthy, HEA; 54 ± 3 years; BMI 26.6 ± 2.7 kg·m<sup>-2</sup>; n = 13 and breast cancer survivors, BCS; 52 ± 5 years; BMI 26.8 ± 2.1 kg·m<sup>-2</sup>; n = 11) completed a 12-week RET program. Participants were assessed using the 6MWT with a PNOE® metabolic analyzer before and after the intervention. Metabolic and respiratory parameters, including submaximal VO<sub>2</sub> and work efficiency were measured. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twelve-week RET improved the distance covered in the 6MWT by 10 ± 11% in the HEA group (from 586.6 ± 27.9 to 642.9 ± 35.9 m) and by 6 ± 16% in the BCS group (from 572.9 ± 62.6 to 604.7 ± 39.9 m) (P < 0.001; η<sup>2</sup> = 0.54), with no significant differences between the groups (P = 0.175). There was an increase in RER (P < 0.001), ventilation (P = 0.043), and carbohydrate percentage (P < 0.001), along with a decrease in fat consumption percentage (P < 0.001), with no differences between groups (P > 0.05). After 12 weeks of RET, absolute submaximal VO<sub>2</sub> decreased in both groups (P < 0.001), with no differences between them (P > 0.05). The maximum work rate increased (P < 0.001), with no differences between groups (P > 0.05). Work efficiency also improved over time (P < 0.05), with no differences between groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>As an exploratory analysis, these findings suggest that a 12-week RET program improved work efficiency and reduced measured submaximal VO<sub>2</sub> during the 6MWT in both populations. The improvements were similar in healthy postmenopausal women and breast cancer survivors.</p><p><strong>Trial registration number: </strong>NCT05690295.</p>","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145069234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Giuseppe Rosaci, Franco Merni, Samuele Marcora, Sandro Bartolomei
{"title":"Recovery response comparisons between variable resistance and long and short muscle length isometric exercise.","authors":"Giuseppe Rosaci, Franco Merni, Samuele Marcora, Sandro Bartolomei","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05958-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05958-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Isometric exercises at long muscle length (LML) and short muscle length (SML), and variable resistance (VAR) exercises, are effective to achieve neuromuscular and morphological adaptation. To date, no studies have compared pectoralis major muscle recovery after these modalities. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the muscle damage and recovery after LML, SML, and VAR in trained men. Twelve participants (age: 25 ± 4 y, height: 178 ± 7 cm, body weight: 82 ± 10 kg, training experience: 7 ± 4 y) completed the protocols in a random order with a 10-day washout period. Assessments occurred pre-exercise (BL) and at 15 min (P-15 min), 24 h (P-24 h), and 48 h (P-48 h) post-exercise, evaluating muscle thickness (MT), echo intensity (EI), isometric peak force, average power at bench press throw power test (BPT), and muscle soreness. Blood samples were also collected at BL and at P-24 h, and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) was measured. Changes in MT at P-15 min and P-24 h were more elevated following VAR compared to SML and LML (p = 0.003; η<sup>2</sup><sub>p</sub> = 0.271). No condition × time interactions were found for EI (p = 0.233), peak force (p > 0.319), BPT (p = 0.614), and muscle soreness (p = 0.115). The EI, peak force, and BPT parameters returned to baseline at P-24 h, while muscle soreness persisted for 48 h without any significant differences between protocols. All exercise protocols resulted in similar elevations of CPK (p = 0.727; 387 ± 159, 396 ± 199 and 362 ± 170 U/L for LML, SML and VAR, respectively). In conclusion, all exercise protocols cause muscle damage. However, the mechanical and metabolic stress of VAR may prolong the recovery of initial muscle architecture compared to LML and SML.</p>","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145052478","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pablo Rozier-Delgado, Maximilien Bowen, Marion Dussauge, Pierre Samozino, Baptiste Morel
{"title":"A single decreasing ramp friction sprint for torque-cadence relationship assessment in cycling.","authors":"Pablo Rozier-Delgado, Maximilien Bowen, Marion Dussauge, Pierre Samozino, Baptiste Morel","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05967-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05967-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to introduce and validate a novel method for assessing dynamic fatigue components through a single-sprint test, addressing the limitations of traditional multi-sprint evaluations.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We tested this method on twenty-one participants by computing torque-cadence relationships from two iso-friction sprints at varying friction levels (3% and 9% of body mass), the traditional combination of these iso-friction sprints and a novel decreasing ramp friction sprint ( <math><msub><mtext>Fr</mtext> <mtext>D</mtext></msub> </math> ). The accuracy of this new method through fatigue was also tested with ten 6-s <math><msub><mtext>Fr</mtext> <mtext>D</mtext></msub> </math> sprints interspersed with a 24-s passive rest.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong><math><msub><mtext>Fr</mtext> <mtext>D</mtext></msub> </math> outperformed single iso-friction sprints and provided accurate and valid torque-cadence relationship's parameters estimates ( <math><msub><mi>T</mi> <mtext>0</mtext></msub> </math> , <math><msub><mi>C</mi> <mtext>0</mtext></msub> </math> , and <math><msub><mi>P</mi> <mtext>max</mtext></msub> </math> ) with systematic bias < 3%, typical error of estimate < 6% and very high <math> <msup><mrow><mi>r</mi></mrow> <mn>2</mn></msup> </math> (median of 0.962). The quality of the input data from this method was also high, as evidenced by the well-distributed and wide-range cadence spectrum (51.3% of <math><msub><mi>C</mi> <mn>0</mn></msub> </math> ; skewness = <math><mo>-</mo></math> 0.51, <math><mrow><mi>p</mi> <mo><</mo> <mn>0.05</mn></mrow> </math> ) and was maintained throughout the fatiguing exercise.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our novel method not only allows the dynamic fatigue components evaluation with only one sprint but also maintains accuracy and validity across varying fatigue states, offering significant advantages for both research and practical applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145032696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lukas Masur, Hanna F Willenbockel, Thekla Cordes, Billy Sperlich, Peter Düking
{"title":"Detection of activated perforasome patterns and the correlation with acute internal load parameters during and following incremental cycling.","authors":"Lukas Masur, Hanna F Willenbockel, Thekla Cordes, Billy Sperlich, Peter Düking","doi":"10.1007/s00421-025-05943-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-025-05943-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Infrared thermography can be used to investigate the kinetics of thermoregulatory processes during exercise. The kinetics of the thermal contrast index (TCI), associated with activated perforasomes, and correlation with selected cardiovascular, metabolic, and subjective parameters have not been investigated during exercise.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>After a 5 min warm-up, n = 21 male cyclists performed an incremental test on a cycling ergometer until volitional exhaustion, followed by 15 min passive recovery. Lactate, heart rate, energy expenditure, oxygen consumption, and rating of perceived exertion were monitored continuously. Skin temperature (T<sub>sk</sub>) and TCI from anterior and posterior thigh were taken every 5 min following the TISEM checklist. TCI was calculated based on the temperature difference of the 10% hottest and 10% coldest pixels within the ROI.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>TCI increased significantly in 27 of 36 total pairwise comparisons of consecutive exercise increments (p < 0.0001 to <0.05, ∆ 2.95 °C), while T<sub>sk</sub> decreased in 20 increments (p < 0.0001 to <0.05, ∆ 1.85 °C) from rest to exhaustion. During the recovery period, TCI declined significantly at 5-min post-exercise (400 W: 4.33 °C vs. post 5: 2.93 °C, p < 0.0001), whereas T<sub>sk</sub> increased significantly after 10 min (400 W: 30.10 °C vs. post 10: 31.33 °C, p < 0.01). TCI showed stronger positive correlations with the internal load parameter (r = 0.48 to 0.72, all p < 0.0001) compared to the inverse correlations of T<sub>sk</sub> (r = -0.27 to -0.41, p < 0.0001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study shows TCI reflects load changes more sensitively and correlates more strongly with physiological parameters than T<sub>sk</sub>, highlighting TCI's potential as a real-time load surrogate.</p>","PeriodicalId":12005,"journal":{"name":"European Journal of Applied Physiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145032835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}