Recovery of heart rate following intense dynamic exercise.
The Olympic biathlon is a very demanding physical event that requires high oxygen delivery, good cross-country skiing skills and skilful use of a rifle. Like all high-performance endurance athletes, high cardiac vagal tone is a characteristic and extends the range over which cardiac output can increase. In the biathlete, however, the enhanced vagal control of the heart also allows a strategy for better control of stability needed for accurately firing a rifle at the end of each lap of the race. The role of endurance training, central command, reflexes from muscle, and of the carotid-cardiac baroreceptor reflex in changing vagal tone during intense exercise and recovery is discussed.
Coote
John H
JH
School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. j.h.coote@bham.ac.uk
D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology*; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology*; D011311:Pressoreceptors / Q000502:physiology*; D012865:Skiing / Q000502:physiology*; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000502:physiology