A map showing the route for a mountain ultra marathon race.

Published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise by the American College of Sports Medicine, this study looks into aspects of respiratory muscle fatigue in a mountain ultramarathon race.

STUDY

Aspects of Respiratory Muscle Fatigue in a Mountain Ultramarathon Race

Purpose:

Because endurance is a requirement of the ultramarathon, this type of running offers a unique opportunity for the study of the mechanisms that contribute to limitation of performance, with central fatigue proving to be major contributor to the loss of strength in the legs. As well as this, fatigue of the respiratory muscles has already been shown to be a limiting factor in sports performance, but it is not known whether the observed impairment is caused by peripheral and/or central fatigue.

Conclusion:

“Ultraendurance running reduces respiratory muscle strength for inspiratory muscles shown to result from significant peripheral muscle fatigue with only little contribution of central fatigue. This is in contrast to findings in locomotor muscles. Whether this difference between muscle groups results from inherent neuromuscular differences, their specific pattern of loading or other reasons remain to be clarified.”

POWERbreathe Inspiratory Muscle Training will subject your inspiratory muscles to an appropriate training resistance, increasing their strength, power and stamina and reducing fatigue.