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Nutrition/Ergogenic Aids

(68) PROBIOTICS AND VERTICAL JUMP PERFORMANCE AFTER CYCLING IN THE HEAT

Friday, July 14, 2023
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM East Coast USA Time
Location: Milano III-IV
Abstract Details: Prolonged cycling in the heat has been speculated to decrease athletic performance, and consuming probiotics has been adopted to possibly reduce the hinderance of performance.

Purpose: To determine the effects of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus GG (LGG) in vertical jump performance following 90 minutes of cycling in 35°C.

Methods: Aerobically active men (n=20; 21 ± 2yrs; 173.7 ± 25.2cm; 73.4 ± 14.5kg; 3.52 ± 0.59 L·min-1) participated in this double blind, parallel randomized control trial. Participants were assigned to one of three groups: 1) two weeks of LGG supplementation (P14), 2) three days of LGG supplementation (P3), or 3) two weeks of placebo supplementation (P0). On the first visit, participants provided a written informed consent, were assessed for anthropometrics, and completed a maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) assessment on a cycle ergometer. Individuals in P14 (n=6) consumed 14 LGG packets, while individuals in P3 (n=5) received 11 packets of a placebo and three packets of the LGG and consumed their supplement in a fashion that the last three days consisted of the LGG supplement. Individuals in P0 (n=9) consumed a placebo daily over the course of 14 days.  Following the completion of the assigned supplementation, participants returned to the laboratory on three separate occasions. During Visit one, participants completed a vertical jump (VJ) assessment prior to (PRE) and immediately following (POST) 90-minutes of cycling in the heat (35°C and 50% relative humidity) at 60% of their VO2max. Visit two and three which were 24- (24H) and 48-hours (48H) later, respectively, consisted of reassessments for VJ performance. Four separate (group x time) repeated measures ANOVA were used to assess changes in VJ height, flight time, force production, and impulse from PRE to POST exercise, as well as 24H and 48H after exercise between groups. Tukey post-hoc analysis was used in the event of an interaction and significance was set to p≤0.05 for all statistical assessments.

Results: There was no significant group x time interaction (F=0.608; η2=0.169; p=0.723;), nor effect for time (F=1.173; η2= 0.065; p=0.329) or group (F=0.060; η2=0.007; p=0.942) for VJ height. Flight time had no interaction (F=1.152; η2=0.178; p=0.356;) nor a time (F=0.432; η2= 0.025; p=0.731) or group effect (F=0.873; η2=0.093; p=0.436). Force production also had no interaction (F=1.591; η2= 0.230; p=0.182) with no effect for time (F=3.77; η2=0.022; p=0.770) or group (F=1.038; η2=0.109; p=0.375). There was also no significant interaction (F=0.201; η2= 0.036; p=0.974), with no effect for time (F=2.785; η2=0.141; p=0.113) or group (F=2.000; η2=0.190; p=0.166) regarding impulse.

Conclusion: The LGG strain does not seem to influence VJ height, flight time, force production, or impulse immediately following exercising in the heat as well as during recovery. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Leading up to an prolonged event under hot conditions, athletes consuming probiotics, specifically the LGG strain, should consider only doing so to relieve gastrointestinal distress rather than aiming to improve VJ height, flight time, force production, and impulse.

Acknowledgements: This project was funded by iHealth Inc