Abstract
The responses to 1-leg submaximal and maximal exercise have been studied in four male subjects before and after a 5 week training programme. One leg was trained under normoxic conditions and the other under hypoxic (\(F_{IO_2 } \)=0.12) conditions for 30 min/day, 3 times/week at a fixed absolute work load which approximated to 75% of the limb's normoxic \(\dot V_{O_2 \max } \). Before and after training both limbs were measured in normoxia, one limb was additionally measured in hypoxia. The aim of the experiments being to use each subject as his own control and to try and elucidate the effects of hypoxia per se as a training stimulus to the improvement of maximal aerobic power output (\(\dot V_{O_2 \max } \)) measured in normoxia.
The results showed that before training the responses to exercise at submaximal and maximal levels were identical in each limb; the effects of hypoxia being to raise V E1.5 and f H1.5, to reduce \(\dot V_{O_2 \max } \) and to leave \(\dot V_{O_2 450} \) unchanged. The effects of the two types of training were to reduce \(\dot V_{O_2 450} \), decrease f H1.5 and increase \(\dot V_{O_2 \max } \), the effects being independent of the \(F_{IO_2 } \). The changes in \(\dot V_{O_2 \max } \) of the hypoxic and normoxic trained legs were related to the initial \(\dot V_{O_2 \max } \) of each subjects' limb. It was concluded that our investigation lends no support to the view that hypoxia has either an additive or potentiating effect with exercise during a training programme on the improvement of aerobic power output measured under normoxic conditions.
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Davies, C.T.M., Sargeant, A.J. Effects of hypoxic training on normoxic maximal aerobic power output. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 33, 227–236 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421150
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421150