Ventilatory threshold and work efficiency on a bicycle and paddling ergometer in top canoeists.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of increasing specific (paddling ergometer) and non-specific (bicycle ergometer) work load on the parameters at the ventilatory threshold (VT) and on work efficiency (WE) during increasing exercise ergometry. When highly trained male canoeists were given an unspecific exercise load, the values of %VO2max at VT were close to the values characteristic for an untrained population (72.3 +/- 5.3% VO2max). When the same subjects were given a specific work load, they produced values typical for highly trained athletes (83.4 +/- 2.5% VO2max). Non-specific exercise produced WE values close to those of untrained subjects on the bicycle ergometer (23.3 +/- 2.1%), and when loading is specific, the groups of working muscles are smaller, producing lower WE values (14.7 +/- 3.5%). It was concluded that the responses to submaximal exercise intensities in the case of nonspecific loading suggests caution in the interpretation of physiological variables which may be sensitive to training status. The assessment of VT and WE as supplementary characteristics during laboratory measurements, enables us, along with other parameters, to ascertain not only the effectiveness of the training process used, but also the specificity of a loading apparatus.