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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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REPEATED ABDOMINAL EXERCISE INDUCES RESPIRATORY MUSCLE FATIGUE |
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Christopher L. Gomez, Lisa M. Strongoli and J. Richard Coast  |
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SA Rasmussen Exercise Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA. |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2009) 8, 543 - 547 |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| Prolonged bouts of hyperpnea or resisted breathing are known to
result in respiratory muscle fatigue, as are primarily non respiratory exercises
such as maximal running and cycling. These exercises have a large ventilatory
component, though, and can still be argued to be respiratory activities.
Sit-up training has been used to increase respiratory muscle strength, but
no studies have been done to determine whether this type of non-respiratory
activity can lead to respiratory fatigue. The purpose of the study was to
test the effect of sit-ups on various respiratory muscle strength and endurance
parameters. Eight subjects performed pulmonary function, maximum inspiratory
pressure (MIP) and maximum expiratory pressure (MEP) measurements, and an
incremental breathing test before and after completing a one-time fatiguing
exercise bout of sit-ups. Each subject acted as their own control performing
the same measurements 3-5 days following the exercise bout, substituting
rest for exercise. Following sit-up induced fatigue, significant decreases
were measured in MIP [121.6 ± 26 to 113.8 ± 23 cmH2O (P <0.025)], and
incremental breathing test duration [9.6 ± 1.5 to 8.5 ± 0.7 minutes (P <0.05)].
No significant decreases were observed from control pre-test to control
post-test measurements. We conclude that after a one-time fatiguing sit-up
exercise bout there is a reduction in respiratory muscle strength (MIP,
MEP) and endurance (incremental breathing test duration) but not spirometric
pulmonary function. Key words: Maximal inspiratory pressure, endurance breathing test, inspiratory muscles, sit-ups. |
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