ABSTRACT

Background: Individuals aim to maximize their performance by exercising. In this context, aerobic endurance and strength training, which may be included in a training program, also comes into prominence.

Aim: The present study was conducted to investigate the impacts of an eight-week modified acute inspiratory muscle training on the aerobic capacities of high school students.

Methods: The study was carried out with a total of 116 volunteer male athletes satisfying the inclusion criteria and not having any illness. The mean age, height, and weight of the experimental group (n=57) were 15.98±0.69 years, 171.3±7.99 cm, and 59.96±8.34 kg, respectively, while those of the control group (n=59) were 16.05±0.65 years, 169.2±8.44 cm, and 58.61±8.15 kg, respectively. The participants were subjected to a 20 m shuttle run, which is an indirect method, as a field test to identify their VO2max. consumption. SPSS 25.0 statistical package program was used for the analysis of the data. The normality of distribution was determined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. T-test was utilized to determine the paired comparisons of the experimental and control groups over each time. In all statistical analyses, the significance level was accepted as p=0.05.

Results: As a result of analyses, the pre-test values for maximal oxygen consumption revealed no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups (t=-0.261; p>0.05). However, the difference between the arithmetic means of the post-test values for maximal oxygen consumption of the groups was found to be statistically significant (t=2.939; p<0.05).

Conclusion: Overall, it can be asserted that inspiratory muscle training positively affected inspiratory muscle strength and, thus, pulmonary functions and aerobic capacity compared to those exercising regularly. In addition, the Borg scale can be used to adjust the difficulty level of the training device.

Keywords: Inspiratory muscle training, Aerobic capacity, Maximal oxygen consumption