Effects of Intermittent Hypoxic Training on Aerobic Capacity and Second Ventilatory Threshold in Untrained Men

Abstract

The aim of study was to evaluate the effects of interval training performed in hypoxia on aerobic capacity and second ventilatory threshold in young, untrained men. Participants (n = 48) were randomly divided into a control group and two groups performing the same interval training (three times a week for 4 weeks) in normoxia (200 m asl) (NT) and in hypoxia (IHT) (3000 m asl, FIO2 = 14.4%). In the incremental test, maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was measured and the first (VT1) and second (VT2) ventilatory thresholds and the maximal power output (Pmax) were determined for each participant. The training workloads of the efforts corresponded to the workload at VT2 (effort) and VT1 (active recovery). Training in both normoxia and hypoxia significantly increased absolute VO2max (p = 0.02, ES = 0.51 and p = 0.002, ES = 0.47, respectively). In comparison to NT, only IHT significantly (p < 0.001; ES = 0.80) improved Pmax, as well as power at VT2 (p = 0.02; ES = 0.78). The applied IHT was effective in improving Pmax and power at VT2, which was not observed after training in normoxia.

The Effects of Intermittent Hypoxic Training on Anaerobic Performance in Young Men

“…Participants did not differ significantly in body composition (Table 1). Moreover, neither body mass nor body composition changed significantly after the training intervention (Table 1, [27]). The effects of the IHT were a significant improvement in both absolute peak power (p < 0.001; ES = 0.34) (Figure 2) and relative peak power (p < 0.001; ES = 0.54) in this group.…”

Intermittent hypoxia training does not change erythrocyte aggregation indicators in young, healthy men

“…To determine individual training workloads, the participants performed in normoxia an incremental test on a cycle ergometer until volitional exhaustion (GE, eBike, Germany). In the graded test, the first ventilatory threshold (VT1), second ventilatory threshold (VT2), were determined using a metabolic cart (Metalyzer, Cortex, Germany), as previously described ( Maciejczyk et al, 2023 ). On the basis of the results of the graded test, the training loads corresponding to absolute power output at VT1 and VT2 were established individually ( Maciejczyk et al, 2023 ).…”