The Yo-Yo IE2 Test: Physiological Response for Untrained Men versus Trained Soccer Players

PETER KRUSTRUP, PAUL S. BRADLEY, JESPER F. CHRISTENSEN, CARLO CASTAGNA, SARAH JACKMAN, LUKE CONNOLLY, MORTEN B. RANDERS, MAGNI MOHR, JENS BANGSBO

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

30 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to examine the physical capacity and physiological response to the Yo-Yo Intermittent Endurance level 2 test (IE2) for untrained individuals (UTR) and trained male soccer players (TR) and to investigate the determinants of intense intermittent exercise performance. Methods Thirty-four healthy UTR males and 15 age-matched TR performed a maximal incremental treadmill test and a Yo-Yo IE2 test. Muscle biopsies and blood samples were obtained, and heart rate (HR) was measured before, during, and after tests. Results UTR had a 67% lower (P < 0.01) Yo-Yo IE2 performance (665 ± 271 vs 2027 ± 298 m; effect size (ES), 4.8), 34% lower V˙O2max (P < 0.01), and 19% lower resting muscle glycogen (P < 0.05) than those of TR. Blood lactate concentration and HR during the first 560 m of the Yo-Yo IE2 test were higher (P < 0.01) in UTR than those in TR (560 m, 7.4 ± 2.8 vs 2.4 ± 0.8 mM; ES, 1.7–2.8; 188 ± 11 vs 173 ± 8 bpm; ES, 0.9–1.5), with no differences at exhaustion. Time >95% HRmax was lower (P < 0.01) in UTR than that in TR (1.0 ± 1.1 vs 6.3 ± 2.9 min; ES, 3.1). Mean rates of muscle creatine phosphate utilization (16.5 ± 9.5 vs 4.3 ± 2.7 mmol·kg−1 d.w·min−1), muscle lactate accumulation (16.8 ± 9.1 vs 4.2 ± 2.9 mmol·kg−1 d.w.·min−1), and glycogen breakdown (29.6 ± 14.2 vs 7.7 ± 5.4 mmol·kg−1 d.w.·min−1) were fourfold higher (P < 0.01; ES, 1.4–1.7) in UTR than those in TR. For UTR, correlations (P < 0.01) were observed between Yo-Yo IE2 performance and V˙O2max (r = 0.77), incremental treadmill test performance (r = 0.79), and muscle citrate synthase activity (r = 0.57) but not for TR (r = −0.12 to 0.50; P > 0.05). Conclusions The Yo-Yo IE2 test was shown to possess high construct validity by showing large differences in performance, HR, and anaerobic metabolism between UTR and TR. In addition, V˙O2max seemed to be important for intermittent exercise performance in UTR but not for TR.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)100-108
Number of pages9
JournalMedicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Volume47
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2015

Keywords

  • V˙O<sub xmlns:mrws="http://webservices.ovid.com/mrws/1.0">2MAX</sub>
  • intense intermittent exercise performance
  • revocery
  • muscle lactate
  • Heart rate
  • blood lactate
  • men
  • male

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