Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the present study was to determine muscle blood flow and muscle oxygenation during repeated-sprint exercise under combined hot and hypoxic conditions.
Methods
In a single-blind, cross-over research design, 11 active males performed three sets of 5 × 6-s maximal sprints with 30-s active recovery on a cycling ergometer under control (CON; 23 °C, 50% rH, 20.9% FiO2), normobaric hypoxic (HYP; 23 °C, 50% rH, 14.5% FiO2), or hot + normobaric hypoxic (HH; 35 °C, 50% rH, 14.5% FiO2) conditions. The vastus lateralis muscle blood flow after each set and muscle oxygenation during each sprint were evaluated using near-infrared spectroscopy methods.
Results
Despite similar repeated-sprint performance among the three conditions (peak and mean power outputs, percent decrement score), HH was associated with significantly higher muscle blood flow compared with CON after the first set (CON: 0.61 ± 0.10 mL/min/100 g; HYP: 0.81 ± 0.13 mL/min/100 g; HH: 0.99 ± 0.16 mL/min/100 g; P < 0.05). The tissue saturation index was significantly lower in HYP than in CON during the latter phase of the exercise (P < 0.05), but it did not differ between HH and CON.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that a combination of normobaric hypoxia and heat stress partially facilitated the exercise-induced increase in local blood flow, but it did not enhance tissue desaturation.
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Abbreviations
- ANOVA:
-
Analysis of variance
- CON:
-
Control condition
- FiO2 :
-
Fraction of inspired oxygen
- HH:
-
Hot + normobaric hypoxic condition
- HR:
-
Heart rate
- HYP:
-
Normobaric hypoxic condition
- mBF:
-
Muscle blood flow
- mRNA:
-
Messenger ribonucleic acid
- NIRS:
-
Near-infrared spectroscopy
- NO:
-
Nitric oxide
- rH:
-
Relative humidity
- RPEbreath :
-
Ratings of perceived difficulty breathing
- RPEleg :
-
Ratings of perceived lower limb discomfort
- RSH:
-
Repeated-sprint training in hypoxia
- S dec :
-
Percent decrement score
- SE:
-
Standard error
- SpO2 :
-
Arterial oxygen saturation
- TSI:
-
Tissue saturation index
- \(\dot{V}\)CO2 :
-
Carbon dioxide production
- \(\dot{V}\)E:
-
Minute ventilation
- VEGF:
-
Vascular endothelial growth factor
- \(\dot{V}\)O2 :
-
Systemic oxygen consumption
- η p 2 :
-
Partial eta squared
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Funding
The present study was funded by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
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KY and KG designed research. KY, DS, NH, NO, and KI conducted experiments and analysis. KY wrote the manuscript, and KG revised it. All authors approved the final manuscript.
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Communicated by I. Mark olfert.
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Yamaguchi, K., Sumi, D., Hayashi, N. et al. Effects of combined hot and hypoxic conditions on muscle blood flow and muscle oxygenation during repeated cycling sprints. Eur J Appl Physiol 121, 2869–2878 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04738-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-021-04738-w