Isocapnic hyperpnea training improves performance in competitive male runners

Abstract

The effects of voluntary isocapnic hyperpnea (VIH) training (10 h over 4 weeks, 30 min/day) on ventilatory system and running performance were studied in 15 male competitive runners, 8 of whom trained twice weekly for 3 more months. Control subjects (n = 7) performed sham-VIH. Vital capacity (VC), FEV1, maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), maximal inspiratory and expiratory mouth pressures, VO2max, 4-mile run time, treadmill run time to exhaustion at 80% VO2max, serum lactate, total ventilation (V(E)), oxygen consumption (VO2) oxygen saturation and cardiac output were measured before and after 4 weeks of VIH. Respiratory parameters and 4-mile run time were measured monthly during the 3-month maintenance period. There were no significant changes in post-VIH VC and FEV1 but MVV improved significantly (+10%). Maximal inspiratory and expiratory mouth pressures, arterial oxygen saturation and cardiac output did not change post-VIH. Respiratory and running performances were better 7- versus 1 day after VIH. Seven days post-VIH, respiratory endurance (+208%) and treadmill run time (+50%) increased significantly accompanied by significant reductions in respiratory frequency (-6%), V(E) (-7%), VO2 (-6%) and lactate (-18%) during the treadmill run. Post-VIH 4-mile run time did not improve in the control group whereas it improved in the experimental group (-4%) and remained improved over a 3 month period of reduced VIH frequency. The improvements cannot be ascribed to improved blood oxygen delivery to muscle or to psychological factors.

Loading of Trained Inspiratory Muscles Speeds Lactate Recovery Kinetics

“…With the exception of one study (37) evidence suggests that placebo effects associated with RMT interventions are minimal (12,15,18,35,36,41) thus we feel that the physiological changes observed after IMT in this study are unlikely to be the result of greater subject expectation and/or motivation. Notwithstanding this, a limitation of our study is that a placebo was not used, which may have influenced outcome measures in the control group.…”

Special training of inspiratory muscles in fitness activities and exercise capacity in young women

“…In healthy people and in athletes, the inability to sustain high levels of ventilation can restrict maximal aerobic capacity [7,12,31]. It has been shown that IMT without the addition of systemic exercise may result in quantitative outcomes [9,10,17,32]. The total mechanical work done during breathing is the sum of all elastic and non-elastic work components.…”

Inspiratory muscle training abolishes the blood lactate increase associated with volitional hyperpnoea superimposed on exercise and accelerates lactate and oxygen uptake kinetics at the onset of exercise

“…This notion contradicts the traditional view that the small mass of the respiratory muscles (estimated at around 960 g (Freedman et al 1983)) and their large oxidative capacity precludes any systemically relevant lactate exchange (Wetter and Dempsey 2000 Romer et al 2002b) and volitional isocapnic hyperpnoea training (endurance-training stimulus) (Leddy et al 2007;Spengler et al 1999), with up to 52% of variation in post-training whole-body exercise performance improvement accounted for by the reduced [lac -] B (Romer et al 2002b). …”