Ergogenic effect of hyperoxic recovery in elite swimmers performing high‐intensity intervals

Abstract

This investigation tested the hypothesis that breathing oxygen-enriched air (F(i)O(2) =1.00) during recovery enhances peak (P(peak)) and mean power (P(mean)) output during repeated high-intensity exercise. Twelve elite male swimmers (21 ± 3 years, 192.1 ± 5.9 cm, 79.1 ± 8.2 kg) inhaled either hyperoxic (HOX) or normoxic (NOX) air during 6-min recovery periods between five repetitions of high-intensity bench swimming, each involving 40 maximal armstrokes. Oxygen partial pressure (pO(2)) and saturation (SO(2)), [H(+)], pH, base excess and blood lactate concentration were measured before and after all intervals. The production of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) hydrogen peroxide was measured before, directly after and 15 min after the test. P(peak) and P(mean) with HOX recovery were significantly higher than with NOX throughout the third, fourth and fifth intervals (P<0.001-0.04). With HOX, electromyography activity was lower during the third, fourth and fifth intervals than during the first (P=0.05-0.001), with no such changes in NOX (P=0.99). There were no differences in blood lactate, pH, [H(+)] or base excess and ROS production at any time point with either HOX or NOX recovery. These findings demonstrate that the P(peak) and P(mean) of elite swimmers performing high-intensity intervals can be improved by exposure to oxygen-enriched air during recovery.

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

“…To date, only a few studies have focused on the effects of hyperoxic recovery from exercise on performance at sea level, and such research has produced inconsistent results (5,11,14,15,21,24,25,31). The current findings are in accordance with most studies on hyperoxic recovery, that hyperoxic air conditions resulted in no differences in power output (15,24) or performance time (21,31) after the inhalation of hyperoxic air (F i O 2 = 1.00) during periods of recovery from intervals of maximal exercise compared with normoxic air scenarios.…”

“…Sperlich et al (25) reported that an elevated fractional content of inspired oxygen (F i O 2 ) during 6-min periods of recovery between 5 Â 50-s maximal arm strokes increased power output in elite swimmers. By contrast, performance was not enhanced by hyperoxic recovery between 5 Â 30-s maximal cycling sessions (24), between two incremental running tests until exhaustion (31), and between 6 Â 3-min high-intensity intervals on a kayak ergometer, with the session set at sea level (15).…”

“…Nummela et al (14) and Sperlich et al (24) demonstrated that exposure to elevated F i O 2 prevents hemoglobin oxygen saturation from decreasing. Hyperoxic recovery also advances the recovery time of postexercise hemoglobin saturation levels (15) and enhances the partial pressure of oxygen (24,25). Maeda and Yasukouchi (11) revealed that breathing hyperoxic air after 3 Â 5-min submaximal cycling sessions reduced blood lactate concentration.…”

Hyperoxia Extends Time to Exhaustion During High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise: a Randomized, Crossover Study in Male Cyclists

“…Although there is evidence that exposure to hyperoxia improves performance during continuous exercise for more than 3 min [24, 27, 33], the effects of hyperoxic gas inhalation on performance during intermittent exercise have been controversial [30]. Exercise performance was improved by inhalation of hyperoxic gas during 6-min recovery periods between five repetitions of high-intensity bench swimming [30], but not by inhalation of hyperoxic gas during 2-min recovery periods between six 3-min laboratory-based kayak ergometer sessions [22]. Our current results demonstrate that inhalation of hyperoxic gas during five entire 3-min sessions of high-intensity intermittent exercise alternated with 3-min rest periods improves exercise performance.…”

“…Inhalation of hyperoxic gas during exercise has been shown to counteract the reduction in S a O 2 that occurs during high-intensity intermittent exercise [21, 22, 30]. Nummela et al [21] reported that inhalation of hyperoxic gas (fraction of inspiratory oxygen (F i O 2 ) = 0.40) during an entire session of high-intensity intermittent exercise consisting of three sets of 300 m of running at different speeds on a treadmill, prevented S a O 2 levels from decreasing.…”