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. 2019 Jun 6:10:701.
doi: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00701. eCollection 2019.

A New Method to Improve Running Economy and Maximal Aerobic Power in Athletes: Endurance Training With Periodic Carbon Monoxide Inhalation

Jun Wang  1 , Yunhui Ji  2 , Li Zhou  1 , Yang Xiang  3 , Ilkka Heinonen  4   5 , Peng Zhang  6
Affiliations

A New Method to Improve Running Economy and Maximal Aerobic Power in Athletes: Endurance Training With Periodic Carbon Monoxide Inhalation

Jun Wang et al. Front Physiol. .

Abstract

Background: Altitude training stimulates erythropoietin hormone (EPO) release and increases blood hemoglobin (Hb) mass, which may result in improved oxygen (O2) transport capacity. It was hypothesized in the present study that periodic inhalation of carbon monoxide (CO) might elicit similar physiological adaptations compared to altitude training.

Methods: Twelve male college student athletes, who were well-trained soccer players, participated. They performed a 4-week treadmill-training program, five times a week. Participants were randomly assigned into an experimental group with inhaling CO (INCO) (1 mL/kg body weight for 2 min) in O2 (4 L) before all training sessions and a control group without inhaling CO (NOCO). CO and EPO concentrations in venous blood were first measured acutely at the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th hour after INCO, and total hemoglobin mass (tHb), running economy and VO2max were measured before and after the 4 weeks training intervention.

Results: HbCO% increased from 0.7 to 4.4% (P < 0.05) after 1 h of CO inhalation and EPO increased from 1.9 to 2.7 mIU/mL after 4 h post CO inhalation (P < 0.05) acutely before the intervention. After the training, the tHb and VO2max in the INCO group increased significantly by 3.7 and 2.7%, respectively, while no significant differences were observed in the NOCO condition. O2 uptake at given submaximal speeds declined by approximately 4% in the INCO group.

Conclusion: Acutely, EPO increased sharply post CO inhalation, peaking at 4 h post inhalation. 4-weeks of training with CO inhalation before exercise sessions improved tHb and VO2max as well as running economy, suggesting that moderate CO inhalation could be a new method to improve the endurance performance in athletes.

Keywords: EPO; carbon monoxide; endurance training; maximal aerobic power; running economy; total hemoglobin mass.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The test protocol of study. The INCO, NOCO, VT, tHb, RBC, Hct, Hb, MCV, and RPE are training group with CO inhalation, control group with no CO inhalation, ventilatory threshold, total hemoglobin, red blood cells, hematocrit, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume, and ratings of perceived exertion, respectively.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Exhaled CO concentration (A), blood HbCO% (B), and EPO concentration (C) after acute inhalation of CO. ∗Compared to baseline value P < 0.05. The HbCO% and EPO are percentage of carboxy-hemoglobin and erythropoietin hormone, respectively.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The assumed physiological reasons of improving in performance caused by inhalation of CO. The EPO and tHb are erythropoietin hormone and total hemoglobin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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