Inter-effort recovery hypoxia: a new paradigm in sport science?
Marcelo Papoti, Fúlvia de Barros Manchado-Gobatto, Cláudio Alexandre Gobatto
Abstract
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a popular method for optimising sports performance and, more recently, improving health-related parameters. The inclusion of hypoxia during HIIT can promote additional gains compared with normoxia. However, reductions in the effort intensities compared with the same training performed in normoxia have been reported. Studies have reported that adding hypoxia during periods of inter-effort recovery (IEH) enables maintenance of the intensity of efforts. It also promotes additional gains from exposure to hypoxia. Our call is for researchers to consider IEH in experiments involving different models of HIIT. Additionally, we consider the need to answer the following questions: What is the clinically relevant minimum dose of exposure to hypoxia during the recovery periods between efforts so that favourable adaptations of parameters are associated with health and sports performance? How does the intensity of exertion influence the responses to hypoxia exposure during recovery periods? What are the chronic effects of different models of HIIT and hypoxia recovery on sports performance?