Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate if peak fat oxidation rate (PFO) is related to Ironman performance in female athletes. Thirty-six female Ironman athletes (age: 34±1 yrs, [21-45 yrs.] SEM [Range]) with a BMI of 22.1±2.0 kg/m 2 [18.8-28.4 kg/m 2 ], a body fat percentage of 24.8±1.0% [9.0-37.0%] and a VO 2 peak of 53.0±1.3 ml/min/kg [36.5-70.5 ml/min/kg] were tested in the laboratory prior to the Ironman Copenhagen 2017. Race time ranged from 9:17:07 to 15:23:48 with mean race time being 11:57:26 h:min:s (717 min). By simple linear regression analyses we found associations between race time and P FO (r 2 =0.22, p<0.005), VO 2 peak (r 2 =0.65, p<0.0001) and the relative exercise intensity eliciting PFO (Fatmax) (r 2 =0.35, p=0.0001). Furthermore, associations were found between race time and body fat percentage (r 2 =0.44, p<0.0001) and age (r 2 =0.16, p<0.05). By means of multiple regression analysis, VO 2 peak was the only statistically significant variable explaining 64% of the variation in race time (adj. r 2 =0.64, p<0.005). In conclusion, these results demonstrate that PFO is not independently related to Ironman performance in a heterogeneous group of female athletes. Interestingly, VO 2 peak alone was able to predict 64% of the variation in Ironman race times.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | International Journal of Sports Medicine |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Pages (from-to) | 916-923 |
| ISSN | 0172-4622 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
Keywords
- Adipose Tissue/metabolism
- Adult
- Athletic Performance/physiology
- Bicycling
- Calorimetry, Indirect
- Fatty Acids/blood
- Female
- Glycerol/blood
- Humans
- Middle Aged
- Oxidation-Reduction
- Oxygen Consumption
- Regression Analysis
- Running
- Swimming
- Young Adult