Impact of Active and Passive Hypoxia as Re-Warm-Up Activities on Rugby Players' Performance.

Domingo Jesús Ramos-Campo,João Malta,Guillermo Olcina,Armando Raimundo,Rafael Timón,Pablo Tomas-Carus

doi:10.3390/ijerph17082971

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of four types of re-warm-up (R-WU) activity, namely rest in normoxia (RN) at FiO2 = 20.9%, rest in hypoxia (RH) at FiO2 = 15%, activity (4 × 5 jumps/15 s) in normoxia (AN) and activity in hypoxia (AH) on physical performance. Ten elite male rugby players completed a 15-min warm-up followed by one of the 15-min randomized R-WU strategies. After R-WU, countermovement jump (CMJ), 20 m sprint and repeat sprint ability (RSA) tests were assessed. Compared to passive strategies (RN and RH), tympanic temperature was higher after active R-WU (AN and AH) (p = 0.016). Higher values of CMJ height (p = 0.037) and 20 m sprint (p = 0.02) were found in AH than in RN. In addition, mean RSA was lower (p = 0.008) in AH than in RN and RH. Blood lactate concentration was higher (p = 0.007) after RN and AN strategies than after AH. Muscle O2 saturation (p = 0.021) and total Hb (p = 0.042) were higher after AH than after the other three conditions and after RN, respectively. Therefore, an active R-WU under hypoxia could be useful to elite rugby players, once it had attenuated the decline in tympanic temperature during a 15-min period after warm-up, improving jump, sprint and RSA performance.

Highlights

Athletes are used to including a warm-up (WU) routine prior to training or competitive events with a view to optimize their subsequent performance [1]
Research suggests that WU routines should be conducted as close as possible to competitive events in order to have positive effects on performance
With respect to the warm-up variables, there were no differences among the four occasions that the rugby players were evaluated on Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), mean and peak heart rate (HR), 20 m and 30 m sprint, and countermovement jump (CMJ) height (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Athletes are used to including a warm-up (WU) routine prior to training or competitive events with a view to optimize their subsequent performance [1]. The main effects of these WU exercises are highly dependent on an increase in body temperature [2], and it is well documented that WU routines promote an increase in blood flow through vasodilatation [3] and optimize metabolic reactions. These routines improve phosphate degradation and muscle glycolysis during exercise [4].

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Methods

Discussion

Conclusion