Impact of prolonged exercise in the heat and carbohydrate supplementation on performance of a virtual environment task.

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether performance of a virtual environment (VE) task is influenced by exercise in the heat and carbohydrate supplementation.

Methods: Ten males completed four exercise trials to fatigue. During each trial, subjects cycled at a submaximal workload. Subjects exercised in a normal environment (NORM) and in a hot environment on different occasions. During exercise, subjects drank 10 mL x kg(-1) x hour(-1) of body weight of a 6% carbohydrate beverage (CHO) or a placebo. Subjects completed a VE task before, during exercise, and after fatigue.

Results: More failures occurred during placebo than CHO during exercise. The NORM CHO trial had the fewest failures at fatigue. More kills occurred during exercise in the NORM CHO.

Conclusions: Performance of a VE task was negatively influenced by prolonged exercise and heat stress. CHO supplementation may have a positive impact on performance of the VE task following prolonged exercise.