Sprint training increases muscle oxidative metabolism during high-intensity exercise in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Objective: To investigate sprint-training effects on muscle metabolism during exercise in subjects with (type 1 diabetic group) and without (control group) type 1 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Eight subjects with type 1 diabetes and seven control subjects, matched for age, BMI, and maximum oxygen uptake (Vo(2peak)), undertook 7 weeks of sprint training. Pretraining, subjects cycled to exhaustion at 130% Vo(2peak). Posttraining subjects performed an identical test. Vastus lateralis biopsies at rest and immediately after exercise were assayed for metabolites, high-energy phosphates, and enzymes. Arterialized venous blood drawn at rest and after exercise was analyzed for lactate and [H(+)]. Respiratory measures were obtained on separate days during identical tests and during submaximal tests before and after training.

Results: Pretraining, maximal resting activities of hexokinase, citrate synthase, and pyruvate dehydrogenase did not differ between groups. Muscle lactate accumulation with exercise was higher in type 1 diabetic than nondiabetic subjects and corresponded to indexes of glycemia (A1C, fasting plasma glucose); however, glycogenolytic and glycolytic rates were similar. Posttraining, at rest, hexokinase activity increased in type 1 diabetic subjects; in both groups, citrate synthase activity increased and pyruvate dehydrogenase activity decreased; during submaximal exercise, fat oxidation was higher; and during intense exercise, peak ventilation and carbon dioxide output, plasma lactate and [H(+)], muscle lactate, glycogenolytic and glycolytic rates, and ATP degradation were lower in both groups.

Conclusions: High-intensity exercise training was well tolerated, reduced metabolic destabilization (of lactate, H(+), glycogenolysis/glycolysis, and ATP) during intense exercise, and enhanced muscle oxidative metabolism in young adults with type 1 diabetes. The latter may have clinically important health benefits.