Lung Diffusion in a 14-Day Swimming Altitude Training Camp at 1850 Meters

Abstract

Swimming exercise at sea level causes a transient decrease in lung diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO). The exposure to hypobaric hypoxia can affect lung gas exchange, and hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction may elicit pulmonary oedema. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether there are changes in DLCO during a 14-day altitude training camp (1850 m) in elite swimmers and the acute effects of a combined training session of swimming in moderate hypoxia and 44-min cycling in acute normobaric severe hypoxia (3000 m). Participants were eight international level swimmers (5 females and 3 males; 17–24 years old; 173.5 ± 5.5 cm; 64.4 ± 5.3 kg) with a training volume of 80 km per week. The single-breath method was used to measure the changes in DLCO and functional gas exchange parameters. No changes in DLCO after a 14-day altitude training camp at 1850 m were detected but a decrease in alveolar volume (VA; 7.13 ± 1.61 vs. 6.50 ± 1.59 L; p = 0.005; d = 0.396) and an increase in the transfer coefficient of the lung for carbon monoxide (KCO; 6.23 ± 1.03 vs. 6.83 ± 1.31 mL·min−1·mmHg−1·L−1; p = 0.038; d = 0.509) after the altitude camp were observed. During the acute hypoxia combined session, there were no changes in DLCO after swimming training at 1850 m, but there was a decrease in DLCO after cycling at a simulated altitude of 3000 m (40.6 ± 10.8 vs. 36.8 ± 11.2 mL·min−1·mmHg−1; p = 0.044; d = 0.341). A training camp at moderate altitude did not alter pulmonary diffusing capacity in elite swimmers, although a cycling session at a higher simulated altitude caused a certain degree of impairment of the alveolar–capillary gas exchange.

The Effects of Six-Month Subalpine Training on the Physical Functions and Athletic Performance of Elite Chinese Cross-Country Skiers

“…A small amount of cortisol can cause euphoria, and too much cortisol can cause poor thinking and irritability [36]. Numerous studies have shown that long-term subalpine training can maintain cortisol at a high level [12,13]. In this study, after long-term subalpine training, the time-oriented effects all had significant changes and were significantly higher compared to the pre-subalpine period, with male athletes showing a significant increase at month 4 and female athletes showing a significant increase at month 2 versus months 4 and 6, with female athletes averaging 100 nmol/L higher than male athletes.…”

“…Creatine kinase is associated with skeletal muscle energy metabolism and serum CK is commonly used to assess the intensity of loading, reflecting the degree of fatigue and damage to skeletal muscle [42]. Studies have shown that athletes' serum CK is up-regulated in the early stage of sub-altitude training [13]. The main reasons are: exercise stretch and increase metabolites increase the permeability of muscle cells, increased catecholamines, and tissue cell damage.…”

“…From the point of view of combining physiological functions and sports training [10], subalpine training provides a certain degree of hypoxia stimulation while maintaining the intensity of training on the plains, so that athletes receive sufficient intensity stimulation, avoiding the disadvantages of traditional plateau training in terms of degradation of athletic performance [11,12]. Research has demonstrated that subalpine training can improve the oxygen-carrying capacity of female athletes in the national modern pentathletes and swimmers, having a stimulating effect on their anabolism [13,14] and can enhance the aerobic capacity of rowers and figure skaters and have a positive effect on their physical function [15,16]. Currently, not much research has been conducted on cross-country skiing training on subalpine plateaus, except for some early reports on cross-country skiing training on plateaus, which demonstrated that plateau training can effectively promote cross-country skiers' physical function [17].…”

Monitoring Physiological Performance over 4 Weeks Moderate Altitude Training in Elite Chinese Cross-Country Skiers: An Observational Study

“…According to the training load monitoring results, the lack of HIT training may have contributed to the lack of cardiorespiratory and physiological stimulation. In addition to no changes in physiological indicators, training at 1550 m may not suffer any change in lung diffusing, which was proved in 1800 m swimming training [38]. A detailed examination applied in a meta-analysis about altitude training reveals a lag in the change in maximal oxygen uptake after altitude training.…”

Effects of six weeks of sub-plateau cold environment training on physical functioning and athletic ability in elite parallel giant slalom snowboard athletes

“…Previous studies have confirmed that altitude or hypoxic training can increase athletes’ blood volume and hemoglobin (Hb) levels ( Bonne et al, 2014 ; Tannheimer et al, 2010 ; Wachsmuth et al, 2013 ), improve the body’s ability to buffer acids such as blood lactic acid (BLA) ( Ramos-Campo et al, 2018 ; Shaw et al, 2020 ), and increase the number of capillaries and mitochondria in skeletal muscle ( Hoppeler et al, 2003 ; Vogt et al, 2001 ). At present, studies concerning the effects of plateau or hypoxic training on athletes’ physical functional status and athletic ability have mainly focused on physical events that occur during the summer, such as rowing, swimming, cycling, middle-distance running, boxing, and sparring ( Gao, Gao & Meng, 2018 ; Garcia et al, 2020 ; Millet & Brocherie, 2020 ). Athletes in these events have improved their physical functional and athletic ability through plateau or hypoxic training and have achieved excellent athletic results in major competitions at home and abroad ( Arezzolo et al, 2020 ; Gao et al, 2019 ; Gao, Gao & Meng, 2018 ; Viscor et al, 2018 ; Zhao, Li & Lu, 2008 ).…”