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Effect of voluntary hypocapnic hyperventilation or moderate hypoxia on metabolic and heart rate responses during high-intensity intermittent exercise

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the effect of voluntary hypocapnic hyperventilation or moderate hypoxia on metabolic and heart rate responses during high-intensity intermittent exercise.

Methods

Ten males performed three 30-s bouts of high-intensity cycling [Ex1 and Ex2: constant-workload at 80% of the power output in the Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT), Ex3: WAnT] interspaced with 4-min recovery periods under normoxic (Control), hypocapnic or hypoxic (2500 m) conditions. Hypocapnia was developed through voluntary hyperventilation for 20 min prior to Ex1 and during each recovery period.

Results

End-tidal CO2 pressure was lower before each exercise in the hypocapnia than control trials. Oxygen uptake (\(\dot{V}{\text{O}}_{ 2}\)) was lower in the hypocapnia than control trials (822 ± 235 vs. 1645 ± 245 mL min−1; mean ± SD) during Ex1, but not Ex2 or Ex3, without a between-trial difference in the power output during the exercises. Heart rates (HRs) during Ex1 (127 ± 8 vs. 142 ± 10 beats min−1) and subsequent post-exercise recovery periods were lower in the hypocapnia than control trials, without differences during or after Ex2, except at 4 min into the second recovery period. \(\dot{V}{\text{O}}_{ 2}\) did not differ between the control and hypoxia trials throughout.

Conclusions

These results suggest that during three 30-s bouts of high-intensity intermittent cycling, (1) hypocapnia reduces the aerobic metabolic rate with a compensatory increase in the anaerobic metabolic rate during the first but not subsequent exercises; (2) HRs during the exercise and post-exercise recovery periods are lowered by hypocapnia, but this effect is diminished with repeated exercise bouts, and (3) moderate hypoxia (2500 m) does not affect the metabolic response during exercise.

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Abbreviations

Acc:

Accommodation period

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BLa:

Blood lactate concentration

f R :

Respiratory frequency

HIE:

High-intensity intermittent exercise

HR:

Heart rate

P ETCO2 :

End-tidal CO2 pressure

P ETO2 :

End-tidal O2 pressure

RPE:

Rating of perceived exertion

SB:

Spontaneous breathing

SpO2 :

Arterial O2 saturation

\(\dot{V}{\text{CO}}_{ 2}\) :

Carbon dioxide elimination

\(\dot{V}_{\text{E}}\) :

Minute ventilation

VH:

Voluntary hyperventilation

\(\dot{V}{\text{O}}_{ 2}\) :

Oxygen uptake

V T :

Tidal volume

WAnT:

Wingate anaerobic test

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate all subjects volunteered for the present study. We also greatly appreciate the help of Dr. William Goldman for English editing and critical comments. The article was funded by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (Grant No. 25,242,061).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, 305-8574, Japan

    Kohei Dobashi, Naoto Fujii, Kazuhito Watanabe, Yosuke Sasaki, Tomomi Fujimoto, Satoru Tanigawa & Takeshi Nishiyasu

  2. Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan

    Kazuhito Watanabe & Tomomi Fujimoto

  3. Faculty of Human Culture and Science, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan

    Bun Tsuji

Authors
  1. Kohei Dobashi
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  2. Naoto Fujii
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  3. Kazuhito Watanabe
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  4. Bun Tsuji
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  5. Yosuke Sasaki
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  6. Tomomi Fujimoto
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  7. Satoru Tanigawa
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  8. Takeshi Nishiyasu
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Correspondence to Takeshi Nishiyasu.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Communicated by Susan Hopkins.

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Dobashi, K., Fujii, N., Watanabe, K. et al. Effect of voluntary hypocapnic hyperventilation or moderate hypoxia on metabolic and heart rate responses during high-intensity intermittent exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol 117, 1573–1583 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3646-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-017-3646-5

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