Putative Role of Respiratory Muscle Training to Improve Endurance Performance in Hypoxia: A Review

View/ Open
Issue date
2019Author
Álvarez-Herms, Jesús
Julià-Sánchez, Sonia
Corbi Soler, Francesc
Odriozola-Martínez, Adrian
Burtscher, Martin
Suggested citation
Álvarez-Herms, Jesús;
Julià-Sánchez, Sonia;
Corbi Soler, Francesc;
Odriozola-Martínez, Adrian;
Burtscher, Martin;
.
(2019)
.
Putative Role of Respiratory Muscle Training to Improve Endurance Performance in Hypoxia: A Review.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2019, vol. 9, núm. 1970, p. 1-11.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01970.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Respiratory/inspiratory muscle training (RMT/IMT) has been proposed to improve the endurance performance of athletes in normoxia. In recent years, due to the increased use of hypoxic training method among athletes, the RMT applicability has also been tested as a method to minimize adverse effects since hyperventilation may cause respiratory muscle fatigue during prolonged exercise in hypoxia. We performed a review in order to determine factors potentially affecting the change in endurance performance in hypoxia after RMT in healthy subjects. A comprehensive search was done in the electronic databases MEDLINE and Google Scholar including keywords: “RMT/IMT,” and/or “endurance performance,” and/or “altitude” and/or “hypoxia.” Seven appropriate studies were found until April 2018. Analysis of the studies showed that two RMT methods were used in the protocols: respiratory muscle endurance (RME) (isocapnic hyperpnea:commonly 10–30′,3–5 d/week)inthreeof the sevenstudies,and respiratory muscle strength (RMS) (Powerbreathe device: commonly 2 × 30 reps at 50% MIP (maximalinspiratory pressure), 5–7 d/week) in the remaining four studies. The duration of theprotocolsrangedfrom4to8weeks,anditwasfoundinsynthesisthatduringexercise in hypoxia, RMT promoted (1) reduced respiratory muscle fatigue, (2) delayed respiratory muscle metaboreflex activation, (3) better maintenance of SaO2 and blood flow to locomotor muscles. In general, no increases of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) were described. Ventilatory function improvements (maximal inspiratory pressure) achieved by using RMT fostered the capacity to adapt to hypoxia and minimized the impact of respiratory stress during the acclimatization stage in comparison with placebo/sham. In conclusion, RMT was found to elicit general positive effects mainly on respiratory efficiency and breathing patterns, lower dyspneic perceptions and improved physical performance in conditions of hypoxia. Thus, this method is recommended to be used as a pre-exposure tool for strengthening respiratory muscles and minimizing the adverse effects caused by hypoxia related hyperventilation. Future studies will assess these effects in elite athletes.
Is part of
Frontiers in Psychology, 2019, vol. 9, núm. 1970, p. 1-11European research projects
Collections
The following license files are associated with this item:
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as cc-by (c) Jesús Álvarez et al., 2019
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
The Influence of Dental Occlusion on Dynamic Balance and Muscular Tone
Julià-Sánchez, Sonia; Álvarez Herms, Jesús; Cirer Sastre, Rafel; Corbi Soler, Francesc; Burtscher, Martin (Frontiers Media, 2020)Excellent postural control is essential to improve the physical performance of athletes. Stability of the body during motor tasks depends on different physiological systems. The influence of dental occlusion on body balance ... -
Effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on body composition and performance in road cycling: a randomized, controlled trial
Sitko, Sebastian; Cirer Sastre, Rafel; Corbi Soler, Francesc; López Laval, Isaac (Arán Ediciones, 2020)Low-carbohydrate diets are frequently used to improve performance in endurance sports, often with contradictory results. This study aimed to assess whether a low-carbohydrate diet can outperform an isocaloric conventional ... -
Power Assessment in Road Cycling: A Narrative Review
Sitko, Sebastian; Cirer Sastre, Rafel; Corbi Soler, Francesc; López Laval, Isaac (MDPI, 2020)Nowadays, the evaluation of physiological characteristics and training load quantification in road cycling is frequently performed through power meter data analyses, but the scientific evidence behind this tool is scarce ...