Are the oxygen uptake and heart rate off-kinetics influenced by the intensity of prior exercise?

• The oxygen uptake recovery curve is influenced by the prior sprints exercise.
• The sprints exercise induced a higher and slower cardiac response during recovery.
• A greater stress on the respiratory system was found after prior running sprints.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of prior exercise on the heart rate (HR) and oxygen uptake (VO2) off-kinetics after a subsequent high-intensity running exercise. Thirteen male futsal players (age 22.8 ± 6.1 years) performed a series of high-intensity bouts without prior exercise (control), preceded by a prior same intensity continuous exercise (CE+CE) and a prior sprint exercise (SE+CE). The magnitude of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOCm − 4.25 ± 0.19 vs. 3.69 ± 0.20 L min−1 in CE+CE and 3.62 ± 0.18 L min−1 in control; p < 0.05) and the parasympathetic reactivation (HRR60s − 33 ± 3 vs. 37 ± 3 bpm in CE+CE and 42 ± 3 bpm in control; p < 0.05) in the SE+CE were higher and slower, compared with another two conditions. The EPOCτ (time to attain 63% of total response; 53 ± 2 s) and the heart rate time-course (HRτ − 86 ± 5 s) were significantly longer after the SE+CE condition than control transition (48 ± 2 s and 69 ± 5 s, respectively; p < 0.05). The SE+CE induce greater stress on the metabolic function, respiratory system and autonomic nervous system regulation during post-exercise recovery than CE, highlighting that the inclusion of sprint-based exercises can be an effective strategy to increase the total energy expenditure following an exercise session.