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

Abstract

Purpose. The aim of the study was to determine if an 8-week-long endurance fitness training with elastic belts would increase the strength-endurance of the inspiratory muscles and lung function characteristics, and to assess whether these changes were consistent with an increase in aerobic power and exercise capacity in healthy young women. Methods. Twenty-two females aged 20-25 years were randomly allocated into 2 groups. The experimental group preformed 8-week-long exercises on stationary bikes with an elastic belt on the lower part of the chest. The control group underwent the same workout, without elastic belts. Vital capacity, forced vital capacity, maximal voluntary ventilation, maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressure, sustained maximal inspiratory pressure, physical activity status, and perceived exertion scores were measured. In the incremental exercise test, work capacity and maximal oxygen uptake were assessed. Tidal volume, minute ventilation (VE), oxygen uptake (VO 2 ), VE/VO 2 , heart rate (Hr), and VO 2 /Hr were continuously monitored. The cycle performance at the power of the ventilatory threshold was evaluated on the following day. Results. The fitness training with elastic belts significantly improved the strength and strength-endurance of the inspiratory muscles, the functional cardio-respiratory capabilities, and aerobic work output. In the control group, the studied parameters were not significantly increased. Conclusions. Applying elastic belts to fitness endurance exercises improves the strength and strength-endurance of inspiratory muscles, cardio-respiratory capabilities, and aerobic power, which additionally raises aerobic work output in fitness training of young women.

Influence of fitness techniques integration on the development of physical qualities and morpho-functional state of adult females

“…The analysis of our study results confirms the research on the priority of improving health status in the system of motivation for fitness exercises in adult females [17,18]. The obtained results expanded the data on the practical application of the methods of con-ducting physical education classes combining various modern fitness techniques, namely Pilates, shaping, and stretching [17,18].…”

Recent Advancements in Our Understanding of the Ergogenic Effect of Respiratory Muscle Training in Healthy Humans: A Systematic Review

“…For a complete review of the efficacy of RMT on performance, readers are referred to published reviews (24, 32). More contemporary evidence largely confirms these findings, with studies demonstrating improvements in core function (7), exercise tolerance assessed by a multistage fitness test (23), aerobic fitness in healthy volunteers (11, 50), peak running velocity and running time to exhaustion (15), and maximal cycling and running capacity in triathletes (6) following a period of RMT, although one recent study failed to document an ergogenic effect of RMT in rowing performance (5).…”