The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of active recovery between two strenuous anaerobic exercises separated by a short time interval. Eight healthy adult male volunteers (age: 24.8±1.8 yrs, height: 170.6±2.5 cm, weight : 70.1 ±2.5 kg) underwent five exercise sessions. Each session consisted of a warm-up, the first anaerobic exercise test (40 sec of exhaustive cycle ergometer exercise), a 30 min inactive (seated) or active recovery period, and a second anaerobic exercise test. During the active recovery period, subjects executed one of four different intensity pedaling tests (60, 80, 100, 120% of predetermined lactate threshold intensity) for 10 min. There were no significant differences in mean power and peak blood lactate concentration among sessions during the first anaerobic exercise test. Significant differences were found in the blood lactate concentration among sessions during the second anaerobic exercise test, and significant differences were found in mean power for the second anaerobic exercise. Optimal intensity related to the blood lactate removal rate was 83.3±7.1%LT, and that related to the working capacity recovery rate was 68.3±11.8%LT.
From these results, concerning blood lactate removal rate, it was suggested that between 80%LT and 100%LT was an effective intensity. As for performance, the effective intensity was less than 100%LT.