Effect of jumping fences on heart rate, blood lactate and CK activity in show jumpers.

Background and objectives: Exercise testing in show jumpers can be required for medical or training purposes. The effect of jumps on some physiologic parameters is poorly described. We wanted to compared the effect of one training session on the flat (TEST1) and one including 1.30 m jumps (TEST2) on velocity, heart rate (HR), blood lactate (BL) and creatine kinase (CK) in show jumpers.
Material and methods: Ten show jumpers (8.2 ± 1.99 y.o.) were recruited. Velocity and HR were assessed using Equisense® and Televet® systems, respectively. Blood was recovered to measure BL and CK before, during and after exercise. Statistical analyses consisted in ANOVA and T-tests.
Results: Specific velocities and HR values on the flat (between fences for TEST2) were not significantly different between the tests. In TEST2, there was a significant increase in HR during the suspension phase over jumps compared to HR during canter between fences. Concentration of CK did not differ between the tests and was not modified by exercise in any session. In both TEST1 and 2, BL concentrations were below 2 mmol/l with no significant increase.
Discussion and conclusions: In our study, jumping training did not modify BL, HR and CK values compared to an equivalent (in speed and duration) flat training. Only HR values were significantly higher during the suspension phase of the jump compared to mean HR when cantering between jumps. These results have to be taken into account when performing an exercise test or planning a training schedule for show jumpers.