The process of fatigue during 30 s of high-intensity exercise results in rapid and
substantial mechanical, electrical and biochemical changes in muscle fibres.
This thesis describes a series of experiments, performed upon a friction-loaded
cycle ergometer, which investigated whether the magnitude of the mechanical
and biochemical changes is affected by changes in average pedalling rate. The
ability to generate peak power in a subsequent sprint of 6 s duration was used
to assess the magnitude of the mechanical changes. Changes in the
concentrations of blood and muscle metabolites pre- and post-exercise
permitted some of the biochemical changes to be measured. [Continues.