Does Hyperoxic Recovery during Cross-country Skiing Team Sprints Enhance Performance?

Abstract

Results indicate that trained endurance athletes who inhale 100% oxygen during recovery periods in a cross-country skiing team sprint at low altitude do not exhibit enhanced performance despite the improvement in the key physiological variables of endurance performance.

Influence of Hypoxic Interval Training and Hyperoxic Recovery on Muscle Activation and Oxygenation in Connection with Double-Poling Exercise

“…In a manner similar to other findings [ 10 , 31 ], arterial oxygen saturation (S a O 2 ) increased here to >99% during hyperoxic recovery following double-poling for 3 min under either normoxic or hypoxic conditions. In another study involving upper-body exercise, recovery of S a O 2 was significantly faster with hyperoxic than with normoxic breathing [ 32 ].…”

“…Indeed, S a O 2 is increased after as few as 25 breaths of hyperoxic gases (F i O 2 = 0.60) [ 33 ]. The desaturation to 87.0% following mild hypoxic exercise and to 91.5% following normoxic exercise is comparable to other values reported after high-intensity exercise involving the upper [ 10 , 32 , 34 ] or lower body [ 2 ].…”

“…At the same time, breathing hyperoxic air elevates the amount of oxygen dissolved in the arterial plasma [ 8 , 9 ], thereby potentially accelerating recovery. In recent years, the physiological responses of athletes to high intensity exercise with intermittent hypoxic training as well as repeated sprints in hypoxia, have attracted increasing scientific interest [ 10 – 12 ].…”

Hyperoxia and hypoxia influence to adaptive processes at muscular work

“…В развернутых ответах авторы [73] приводят результаты исследований, которые подтверждают, что: а) данные о влиянии гипероксии при восстановлении после высокоинтенсивного упражнения на последующую работоспособность неубедительны [35,57,72,82]; б) даже если имеются изменения в физиологических показателях в результате тренировок в условиях гипероксии, показатели изученной ферментной активности мышц, определяющих работоспособность, не отличаются от таковых при нормоксии, а работоспособность спортсменов не увеличивается [43,59]; в) гипероксия, содействуя артериальной сатурации O 2 [52], уменьшает ощущение возбуждения в интервалах восстановления между повторяющимися высокоинтенсивными и спринтерскими упражнениями как в условиях среднегорья, так и на уровне моря, не улучшает работоспособность [35,72,86].…”

Sightings edited by John W. Severinghaus

“…Hauser et al (2013) tested whether oxygen during recovery after 3 min cross-country skiing sprints improves repeated sprint performance. Eight well-trained male endurance athletes performed two sets of 3 · 3-min team sprints at *1800 m simulated altitude, recovering after each with either oxygen or chamber air.…”