Effects of hypoxic training on physiological exercise intensity and recognition of exercise intensity in young men

This study aimed to examine the effects of hypoxic training on physiological exercise intensity and recognition of exercise intensity in young men. The participants included 9 healthy young males (23.2 ± 6.5 years old, 176.2 ±6.7 cm, 74.3 ±16.4 kg). VO2 was measured during running with subjective exercise intensities of “somewhat hard” for 3 min and “fairly light” for 3 min. After the measurements, the participants answered the question “what percentage of your maximal effort was performed during both running exercises.” The exercise intensity recognition for the “fairly light” and “somewhat hard” intensities and the physiological exercise intensity measured by relative VO2 (%) and relative heart rate (HR, %) were then evaluated. The hypoxic training was performed 3 times a week for 4 weeks in a normobaric hypoxic chamber (oxygen concentration, 15.4% and altitude, 2500 m). The participants ran at an exercise intensity of 60% VO2max for 40 min after a 5 min warm-up and then performed a 5 min cool-down. After training, they sat on a chair in the same room for 30 min. VO2max and HRmax changed significantly after the training. At “fairly light” intensity, the physiological measures were significantly higher than recognition of exercise intensity, with relative VO2 (%) increasing after training. In conclusion, hypoxia training causes an increase in VO2max and physiological exercise intensity during running at a “fairly light” intensity.