Effects of intermittent hypoxia on running economy.
We investigated the effects of two 5-wk periods of intermittent hypoxia on running economy (RE). 11 male and female middle-distance runners were randomly assigned to the intermittent hypoxia group (IHG) or to the control group (CG). All athletes trained for a 13-wk period starting at pre-season until the competition season. The IHG spent additionally 2 h at rest on 3 days/wk for the first and the last 5 weeks in normobaric hypoxia (15-11% FiO2). RE, haematological parameters and body composition were determined at low altitude (600 m) at baseline, after the 5 (th), the 8 (th) and the 13 (th) week of training. RE, determined by the relative oxygen consumption during submaximal running, (-2.3+/-1.2 vs. -0.3+/-0.7 ml/min/kg, P<0.05) and total running time (+1.0+/-0.9 vs. +0.4+/-0.5 min, P<0.05) changed significantly between the IHG and CG only during the first 5-wk period. Haematological and cardiorespiratory changes indicate that the improved RE was associated with decreased cardiorespiratory costs and greater reliance on carbohydrate. Intermittent hypoxia did not affect RE during the second 5-wk period. These findings suggest that the effects of intermittent hypoxia on RE strongly depend on the training phase.
Burtscher
M
M
Department of Sport Science, Medical Section,University of Innsbruck, Austria. Martin.Burtscher@uibk.ac.at
Gatterer
H
H
Faulhaber
M
M
Gerstgrasser
W
W
Schenk
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000531:Altitude; D056352:Athletes; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology*; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult