Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) in Athletes

Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) in Athletes

The purpose of this study is to determine weather well trained athletes benefit from inspiratory (respiratory) muscle training.

• Subject: The investigators intend to include 40 well trained runners, 18 years or older.
• Design: Following lung function and exercise testing (incremental treadmill test to exhaustion, 5000m run time trial) participants will be randomly assigned to a verum or a control group. The verum group will train with a hand-held, commercially available pressure threshold loading device (POWERbreathe,UK). The control group will perform a sham-training with the same device. After six to eight weeks the the initial tests will be repeated.
• Hypothesis: Inspiratory muscle training enhances performance on submaximal work loads and in the 5000m run time trial by changes in breathing pattern. Maximum oxygen uptake remains unchanged.

Inclusion Criteria:

• well trained runners

Exclusion Criteria:

• previous respiratory muscle training
• cardiovascular diseases
• impaired lung function