Acute Effects of Winter Sports and Indoor Cycling on Arterial Stiffness

Abstract

Sedentary lifestyle predisposes to endothelial dysfunction, increased arterial stiffness and cardiovascular diseases, all of which can be positively modified by regular physical exercise training. A decrease in physical activity during winter months coincides with higher rates of cardiovascular events. In order to identify winter sports suitable to overcome this seasonal exercise deficit and thus contribute to cardiovascular health, it was the aim of this study to compare immediate effects of cross-country skiing (XCS) and alpine skiing (AS) on arterial stiffness as an alternative to indoor cycling (IC). After baseline assessment, eighteen healthy subjects performed one session of XCS, AS, and IC in randomized order. Pulse wave analysis was conducted (Mobil-o-Graph^®) before and 10-min after exercise. Parameters of arterial stiffness and wave reflection were reduced after XCS and IC, but not after AS: central systolic blood pressure (IC: -8.0 ± 5.4 mmHg; p < 0.001), amplitude of the backward pressure wave (IC: -1.4 ± 2.7 mmHg; p < 0.05), reflection coefficient (XCS: -6.0 ± 7.8%; IC: -5.7 ± 8.1%; both p < 0.1), and pulse wave velocity (IC by -0.19 ± 0.27 m/s; p < 0.01). Higher exercise intensities correlated with greater reductions of arterial stiffness (all p < 0.05). Single sessions of XCS, IC but not AS led to comparable improvement in arterial stiffness, which was even more pronounced during higher exercise intensities. With regard to arterial stiffness, IC and XCS emerge as more effective to counteract the winter exercise deficit and thus the deleterious cardiovascular effects of a sedentary lifestyle.

Keywords: Alpine skiing; cross-country skiing; cycling; exercise intensity; physical activity; pulse wave analysis.

Figure 1.

Composition of a single exercise session. Each session consisted of a 5 min warm-up, followed by 4 min at low, moderate and high intensities interspersed by 2 min active rest and a 10 min passive resting phase preceding a 10 min high intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT included alternating intervals of 1 min at >90% (or short radius turns for alpine skiing) and 1 min at 60% of maximal heart rate (or active/passive resting for alpine skiing). This was followed by a passive resting phase of 10 min until pulse wave analysis measurement. Legend: AS: alpine skiing, HIIT: high intensity interval training, HR_max: maximal heart rate during maximal cycle ergometry, IC: indoor cycling, Pulse wave analysis: heart rate and pulse wave analysis measurement using Mobil-o-Graph®, Rest: active recovery at IC and passive recovery at XCS and AS of around 2 min, XCS: cross-country skiing.

Figure 2.

Exercise intensities and arterial stiffness. Relationship between exercise intensities and the change of A) central systolic blood pressure, B) pulse wave velocity and C) the reflection coefficient during exercise. Exercise intensities are defined by the mean relative oxygen uptake during an exercise session (VO_2mean, in ml/min/kg) related to the VO_2max of the all-out cycling ergometry [exercise intensity (%) = (100*VO_2mean)/VO_2max]. cSBP: central systolic blood pressure, PWV: pulse wave velocity; r_xy: Pearson’s correlation coefficient, p: p-value.