Transferability of Exercise Intensity Based on Muscle Oxygenation from Normoxia to Hypoxia in Ski-Mountaineering Athletes—Exploratory Study

Frequent changes in altitude and oxygen levels limit the practical application of traditionally derived exercise thresholds or training zones based on heart rate (HR) or blood lactate concentration (bLa). We investigated the transferability of a muscle oxygenation (SmO<sub>2</sub>)-based...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kinga Rębiś, Tomasz Kowalski, Kamil Michalik, Andrzej Klusiewicz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Sports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/12/12/351
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846102629011161088
author Kinga Rębiś
Tomasz Kowalski
Kamil Michalik
Andrzej Klusiewicz
author_facet Kinga Rębiś
Tomasz Kowalski
Kamil Michalik
Andrzej Klusiewicz
author_sort Kinga Rębiś
collection DOAJ
description Frequent changes in altitude and oxygen levels limit the practical application of traditionally derived exercise thresholds or training zones based on heart rate (HR) or blood lactate concentration (bLa). We investigated the transferability of a muscle oxygenation (SmO<sub>2</sub>)-based intensity prescription between different hypoxic conditions to assess the suitability of real-time SmO<sub>2</sub> measurements for ski-mountaineering (SKIMO) athletes during submaximal endurance exercise. A group of 15 well-trained male SKIMO athletes performed a graded-intensity run test in normoxia (87 m ASL, FiO<sub>2</sub> = 20.8%) to determine the anaerobic threshold (AnT) with the mod-Dmax method, and maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) assessments in acute normobaric hypoxia (3000 m ASL, FiO<sub>2</sub> = 14.4%) with the intensity aligned to 90–105% of SmO<sub>2</sub> at the normoxia-determined AnT. SmO<sub>2</sub>, HR, and bLa were monitored during both tests. The number of MLSS assessments without a bLa increase over 1 mmol·L<sup>−1</sup> was reported. Paired <i>t</i>-tests with Cohen’s d effect sizes and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were computed to compare the bLa and HR at the AnT in normoxia and MLSS averages in hypoxia, as both corresponded to equivalent SmO<sub>2</sub>. Out of the 15 MLSS assessments, 11 (73.3%) were performed without a bLa increase over 1 mmol·L<sup>−1</sup>. Significant differences at equivalent SmO<sub>2</sub> in normoxia and hypoxia were found for HR (175 ± 11.7 vs. 160 ± 14.2 bpm, <i>p</i> = 0.005, d = 1.02), but not for bLa (4.9 ± 1.2 vs. 5.1 ± 2.4 mmol·L<sup>−1</sup>, <i>p</i> = 0.845, d = −0.05). ICC(2,k) for HR and bLa were 0.56 (95% CI: −0.24, 0.85) and 0.40 (95% CI: −0.75, 0.80), respectively. The results indicate a fair transferability of a SmO<sub>2</sub>-based intensity prescription between different hypoxic conditions in well-trained SKIMO athletes during submaximal endurance exercise. The practical significance of the observations depends on the required accuracy of the exercise intensity determination.
format Article
id doaj-art-373922f14b724129bfbdd1c075dd6f46
institution Kabale University
issn 2075-4663
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Sports
spelling doaj-art-373922f14b724129bfbdd1c075dd6f462024-12-27T14:54:36ZengMDPI AGSports2075-46632024-12-01121235110.3390/sports12120351Transferability of Exercise Intensity Based on Muscle Oxygenation from Normoxia to Hypoxia in Ski-Mountaineering Athletes—Exploratory StudyKinga Rębiś0Tomasz Kowalski1Kamil Michalik2Andrzej Klusiewicz3Department of Physiology, Institute of Sport—National Research Institute, 01-982 Warsaw, PolandDepartment of Physiology, Institute of Sport—National Research Institute, 01-982 Warsaw, PolandFaculty of Physical Education and Sport, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, 51-612 Wroclaw, PolandDepartment of Physical Education and Health in Biala Podlaska, Faculty in Biała Podlaska, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education, 00-968 Warsaw, PolandFrequent changes in altitude and oxygen levels limit the practical application of traditionally derived exercise thresholds or training zones based on heart rate (HR) or blood lactate concentration (bLa). We investigated the transferability of a muscle oxygenation (SmO<sub>2</sub>)-based intensity prescription between different hypoxic conditions to assess the suitability of real-time SmO<sub>2</sub> measurements for ski-mountaineering (SKIMO) athletes during submaximal endurance exercise. A group of 15 well-trained male SKIMO athletes performed a graded-intensity run test in normoxia (87 m ASL, FiO<sub>2</sub> = 20.8%) to determine the anaerobic threshold (AnT) with the mod-Dmax method, and maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) assessments in acute normobaric hypoxia (3000 m ASL, FiO<sub>2</sub> = 14.4%) with the intensity aligned to 90–105% of SmO<sub>2</sub> at the normoxia-determined AnT. SmO<sub>2</sub>, HR, and bLa were monitored during both tests. The number of MLSS assessments without a bLa increase over 1 mmol·L<sup>−1</sup> was reported. Paired <i>t</i>-tests with Cohen’s d effect sizes and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were computed to compare the bLa and HR at the AnT in normoxia and MLSS averages in hypoxia, as both corresponded to equivalent SmO<sub>2</sub>. Out of the 15 MLSS assessments, 11 (73.3%) were performed without a bLa increase over 1 mmol·L<sup>−1</sup>. Significant differences at equivalent SmO<sub>2</sub> in normoxia and hypoxia were found for HR (175 ± 11.7 vs. 160 ± 14.2 bpm, <i>p</i> = 0.005, d = 1.02), but not for bLa (4.9 ± 1.2 vs. 5.1 ± 2.4 mmol·L<sup>−1</sup>, <i>p</i> = 0.845, d = −0.05). ICC(2,k) for HR and bLa were 0.56 (95% CI: −0.24, 0.85) and 0.40 (95% CI: −0.75, 0.80), respectively. The results indicate a fair transferability of a SmO<sub>2</sub>-based intensity prescription between different hypoxic conditions in well-trained SKIMO athletes during submaximal endurance exercise. The practical significance of the observations depends on the required accuracy of the exercise intensity determination.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/12/12/351near-infrared spectroscopyNIRShypoxiaexercise testinganaerobic thresholdSKIMO
spellingShingle Kinga Rębiś
Tomasz Kowalski
Kamil Michalik
Andrzej Klusiewicz
Transferability of Exercise Intensity Based on Muscle Oxygenation from Normoxia to Hypoxia in Ski-Mountaineering Athletes—Exploratory Study
Sports
near-infrared spectroscopy
NIRS
hypoxia
exercise testing
anaerobic threshold
SKIMO
title Transferability of Exercise Intensity Based on Muscle Oxygenation from Normoxia to Hypoxia in Ski-Mountaineering Athletes—Exploratory Study
title_full Transferability of Exercise Intensity Based on Muscle Oxygenation from Normoxia to Hypoxia in Ski-Mountaineering Athletes—Exploratory Study
title_fullStr Transferability of Exercise Intensity Based on Muscle Oxygenation from Normoxia to Hypoxia in Ski-Mountaineering Athletes—Exploratory Study
title_full_unstemmed Transferability of Exercise Intensity Based on Muscle Oxygenation from Normoxia to Hypoxia in Ski-Mountaineering Athletes—Exploratory Study
title_short Transferability of Exercise Intensity Based on Muscle Oxygenation from Normoxia to Hypoxia in Ski-Mountaineering Athletes—Exploratory Study
title_sort transferability of exercise intensity based on muscle oxygenation from normoxia to hypoxia in ski mountaineering athletes exploratory study
topic near-infrared spectroscopy
NIRS
hypoxia
exercise testing
anaerobic threshold
SKIMO
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/12/12/351
work_keys_str_mv AT kingarebis transferabilityofexerciseintensitybasedonmuscleoxygenationfromnormoxiatohypoxiainskimountaineeringathletesexploratorystudy
AT tomaszkowalski transferabilityofexerciseintensitybasedonmuscleoxygenationfromnormoxiatohypoxiainskimountaineeringathletesexploratorystudy
AT kamilmichalik transferabilityofexerciseintensitybasedonmuscleoxygenationfromnormoxiatohypoxiainskimountaineeringathletesexploratorystudy
AT andrzejklusiewicz transferabilityofexerciseintensitybasedonmuscleoxygenationfromnormoxiatohypoxiainskimountaineeringathletesexploratorystudy