Abstract
It is well established in the literature that oxygen breathing during intense aerobic exercise improves performance. However, the magnitude of performance enhancement cannot be completely explained by metabolic mechanisms and therefore may involve central and peripheral neural factors. PURPOSE To examine the potential effect of O2-breathing during a predominantly anaerobic test. METHODS Twenty active male and female subjects (18–25yrs), completed a series of 4 Wingate tests using a Monark 894E computerized system. Two tests were completed while breathing 21% O2 and two breathing 100% O2. Each test was preceded by a 10 min breathing period. All tests were randomly assigned, single-blind with a least a day between tests. Measurements of peak power, minimum power, average power and power drop (%) were collected. In addition, VCO2 was collected during the test and for 10min recovery in order to estimate aerobic metabolism. RESULTS Peak power in watts (W) was attained for all tests during the first 5sec. 60% of subjects achieved max. peak power during hyperoxia. Peak power was 2.9% greater for hyperoxia (803 W) than normoxia (780 W) and average power was 2.5% greater for hyperoxia (611 W) than normoxia (596 W). Average power drop was similar between test conditions: during the first 15 sec. (normoxia=11.8%, hyperoxia=11.6%) and for the 30 sec. duration of the test (normoxia=39.8%, hyperoxia=38.7%). Total VCO2 was highest in all but 2 subjects during hyperoxia, suggesting a slight increase in aerobic metabolism. Following test completion subjects' perceived exertion was consistently less in hyperoxia than normoxia. CONCLUSION The data suggest that O2 breathing has minimal effect on work performance parameters measured during a primarily anaerobic test.
Published Version
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