To investigate the influence of different metabolic muscle fiber profiles on the emergence of the slow component of oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text]SC), 12 habitually active males completed four sessions of different combinations of work-to-work transition exercises up to severe intensity. Each transition was modeled to analyze the different kinetic parameters. Using a new approach, combining Henneman's principle and superposition principle, a reconstructed kinetics was built by temporally aligning the start of each new transition and summing them. The primary phase time constant significantly slowed and the gain at the end (GainEnd) significantly increased when transitions started from a higher intensity (p < 0.001). Kinetic parameters from the reconstructed curve ([Formula: see text], time delay of primary phase, [Formula: see text]End and GainEnd) were not significantly different from one transition to severe exercise. These results suggest that the appearance of the [Formula: see text]SC is at least related to, if not the result of, the different metabolic properties of muscle fibers.
Keywords: Muscle fatigue; Muscle fibers’ metabolic properties; Oxygen consumption kinetics; Slow component.