Low-Dose Ammonium Preconditioning Enhances Endurance in Submaximal Physical Exercises.

Igor Mindukshev,Nikolay V Goncharov,Elisaveta Skverchinskaya,Stepan Gambaryan,Alexandr I Krivchenko,Elena Nikitina,Irina Dobrylko,Julia Sudnitsyna

doi:10.3390/sports9020029

Abstract

Preconditioning is often used in medicine to protect organs from ischemic damage and in athletes to enhance the performances. We tested whether low-dose ammonium preconditioning (AMP) could have a beneficial effect on physical exercises (PE). We used Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) on a treadmill to investigate the effects of low-dose AMP on the physical exercise capacity of professional track and field athletes and tested twenty-five athletes. Because of the individual differences between athletes, we performed a preliminary treadmill test (Pre-test) and, according to the results, the athletes were randomly allocated into the AMP and control (placebo, PL) group based on the similarity of the total distance covered on a treadmill. In the AMP group, the covered distance increased (11.3 ± 3.6%, p < 0.02) compared to Pre-test. Similarly, AMP significantly increased O2 uptake volume—VO2 (4.6 ± 2.3%, p < 0.03) and pulmonary CO2 output—VCO2 (8.7 ± 2.8%, p < 0.01). Further, the basic blood parameters (pH, pO2, and lactate) shift was lower despite the greater physical exercise progress in the AMP group compared to Pre-test, whereas in the placebo group there were no differences between Pre-test and Load-test. Importantly, the AMP significantly increased red blood cell count (6.8 ± 2.0%, p < 0.01) and hemoglobin concentration (5.3 ± 1.9%, p < 0.01), which might explain the beneficial effects in physical exercise progress. For the first time, we showed that low-dose AMP had clear beneficial effects on submaximal PE.

Highlights

IntroductionTraining and recovery are fundamental to improve performance in athletes or people working under strenuous exercises (firefighters, industrial abseilers, military men, etc.), optimization of training strategies for performance enhancement and the search of the new methods as preconditioning for the endurance enhancement is an important area of research in sports medicine and physical exercise (PE) physiology [1,2,3,4].Among other techniques, ischemic preconditioning (IPC) has been used extensively in health and disease [5,6,7]
Training and recovery are fundamental to improve performance in athletes or people working under strenuous exercises, optimization of training strategies for performance enhancement and the search of the new methods as preconditioning for the endurance enhancement is an important area of research in sports medicine and physical exercise (PE) physiology [1,2,3,4]
Preconditioning is widely used in different applications [11,14,68,69] and previously the high doses Am preconditioning was tested without any beneficial effects [25,39]

Summary

Introduction

Training and recovery are fundamental to improve performance in athletes or people working under strenuous exercises (firefighters, industrial abseilers, military men, etc.), optimization of training strategies for performance enhancement and the search of the new methods as preconditioning for the endurance enhancement is an important area of research in sports medicine and physical exercise (PE) physiology [1,2,3,4].Among other techniques, ischemic preconditioning (IPC) has been used extensively in health and disease [5,6,7]. Training and recovery are fundamental to improve performance in athletes or people working under strenuous exercises (firefighters, industrial abseilers, military men, etc.), optimization of training strategies for performance enhancement and the search of the new methods as preconditioning for the endurance enhancement is an important area of research in sports medicine and physical exercise (PE) physiology [1,2,3,4]. Future work is required to find out in which types of exercises IPC might have beneficial effects. Another method of preconditioning is connected with the prevention of shifts in the acid-base balance because its changes affect blood buffering capacity leading to metabolic acidosis or alkalosis which may affect endurance in extensive and sub-maximal PE [15]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion