Influence of Training Status and Maturity on Pulmonary O2 Uptake Recovery Kinetics Following Cycle and Upper Body Exercise in Girls

The influence of training status on pulmonary VO2 recovery kinetics, and its interaction with maturity, has not been investigated in young girls. Sixteen prepubertal (Pre: trained (T, 11.4 +/- 0.7 years), 8 untrained (UT, 11.5 +/- 0.6 years)) and 8 pubertal (Pub: 8T, 14.2 +/- 0.7 years; 8 UT, 14.5 +/- 1.3 years) girls completed repeat transitions from heavy intensity exercise to a baseline of unloaded exercise, on both an upper and lower body ergometer. The VO2 recovery time constant was significantly shorter in the trained prepubertal and pubertal girls during both cycle (Pre: T, 26 +/- 4 vs. UT, 32 +/- 6; Pub: T, 28 +/- 2 vs. UT, 35 +/- 7 s; both p < .05) and upper body exercise (Pre: T, 26 +/- 4 vs. UT, 35 +/- 6; Pub: T, 30 +/- 4 vs. UT, 42 +/- 3 s; both p < .05). No interaction was evident between training status and maturity. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of VO2 recovery kinetics to training in young girls and challenge the notion of a "maturational threshold" in the influence of training status on the physiological responses to exercise and recovery.