Eccentric cycling generates greater mechanical output with lower muscle activation and metabolic demand than concentric cycling. However, eccentric cycling intensity is commonly prescribed based on concentric cycling workloads, which may not provide comparable neuromuscular loading between cycling modes. The eccentric intensity required to match muscle activation during a clinically relevant concentric workload and its frequency-domain surface electromyographic (sEMG) characteristics remain unclear. This pilot study aimed to identify an eccentric cycling workload eliciting vastus lateralis (VL) muscle activation comparable to a submaximal concentric workload and to compare frequency-domain sEMG characteristics between cycling modes. Twenty-one healthy females completed concentric and eccentric incremental cycling exercise tests (CICET and EICET). VL sEMG was recorded throughout both tests. The workload closest to 70% of concentric peak power output (PPO) served as the reference, and the eccentric workload producing the closest normalized root mean square (RMS) amplitude was identified as the muscle activation-matched workload. RMS, median frequency (MDF), and normalized MDF slope (NMDF slope) were analyzed. A muscle activation-matched eccentric workload was successfully identified. This workload was significantly higher than the concentric reference workload (p < 0.001), while normalized mean RMS was comparable between conditions. EICET showed significantly higher MDF at the initial and final stages and a significantly less negative NMDF slope than CICET. Preliminary evidence suggests that muscle activation-matched eccentric cycling requires 1.69 times the power output of concentric cycling, based on the ratio of group means, while inducing less neuromuscular fatigue. Larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.

This study investigates whether 5-min ischemic preconditioning (IR5) more effectively reduces submaximal exercise blood pressure and improves muscle oxygenation compared to 2-min ischemia (IR2) or 2-min isometric priming (IM2). Twenty untrained men (10 prehypertensive; 10 normotensive) completed, in randomized order, IR5 (3 × 5 min bilateral limb occlusion at 220 mmHg), IR2 (3 × 2 min bilateral occlusion), and IM2 (3 × 2 min 30 % maximal voluntary contraction isometric knee extension), each followed by the submaximal exercise test. Outcomes were exercise heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and vastus lateralis muscle oxygenation including Δdeoxyhemoglobin (ΔHHb), Δtotal hemoglobin (ΔtHb), and Δtissue saturation index (ΔTSI). IR5 significantly attenuated the submaximal pressor response, reducing SBP by mean difference (MD) = −2.23 mmHg (P < .001, ηp² = 0.395) compared with both IR2 and IM2. A significant Condition × Group interaction (P = .023) indicated that the MAP reduction was confined to prehypertensive participants (MD = −3.14 mmHg, P = .003). During exercise, IR5 increased ΔtHb by MD = 1.56 μmol/L (ηp² = 0.606) and mitigated the decline in ΔTSI by MD = 2.98 % (ηp² = 0.716) without altering ΔHHb. In contrast, IR2 and IM2 elicited similar occlusion-phase deoxygenation but did not modify exercise hemodynamics or oxygenation metrics. IR5 effectively lowers SBP and MAP during submaximal exercise and improves muscle oxygenation. It is a safe, non-pharmacological pre-exercise strategy to manage blood pressure and potentially reduce cardiovascular risk.