Active and Passive Recovery and Acid-Base Kinetics Following Multiple Bouts of Intense Exercise to Exhaustion

The purpose of this study was to profile the effect of active versus passive recovery on acid-base kinetics during multiple bouts of intense exercise. Ten males completed two exercise trials. The trials consisted of three exercise bouts to exhaustion with either a 12 min active (20% workload max) or passive recovery between bouts. Blood pH was lower in the passive (p) recovery compared to active (a) throughout the second and third recovery periods [second recovery: 7.18 ± 0.08 to 7.24 ± 0.09 (p), 7.23 ± 0.07 to 7.32 ± 0.07 (a), P < 0.05; third recovery: 7.17 ± 0.08 to 7.22 ± 0.09 (p), 7.23 ± 0.08 to 7.32 ± 0.08 (a), P < 0.05]. Exercise performance times did not differ between recovery conditions (P = 0.28). No difference was found between conditions for recovery kinetics (slope and half-time to recovery). Subsequent performance during multiple bouts of intense exercise to exhaustion may not be influenced by blood acidosis or mode of recovery.