EFFICACY OF PRE EXERCISE CARBOHYDRATE DRINK (GATORADE) ON THE RECOVERY HEART RATE, BLOOD LACTATE AND GLUCOSE LEVELS IN SHORT TERM INTENSIVE EXERCISE.

Nutrition is an important tool in the field of sports practice; once well oriented it may reduce fatigue, which allows the athlete to train longer or recover better between the training sessions. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a carbohydrate drink (Gatorade) on the recovery heart rate and blood lactate levels. 20 healthy men were recruited as subjects. Flavoured water or Gatorade was given randomly to the subjects 20 minutes prior to exercise. The subjects were made to exercise under Bruce treadmill protocol. The peak exercise heart rate and blood pressure were recorded, when the subjects underwent passive recovery in supine lying, and the recovery heart rate was recorded. The post exercise blood sample was analyzed for blood lactate and glucose concentrations. The same subject was followed up after 48 hours for the second trial. The findings of the study indicate statistically significant differences between Gatorade and Placebo drinks (p<0.05) in post exercise lactate (t=3.04) and glucose levels (t=3.52). Significant differences were also recorded in heart rates at the 3^rd, 5^th and 8^th minutes of passive recovery with (F=4.47), (F=5.60) and (t=4.35) respectively. Gatorade increases performance by limiting lactate accumulation and improves cardiovascular responses by keeping a low heart rate thereby delaying the onset of fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]