Dr. Med., Associate Professor Yu.E. Vagin¹
PhD I.M. Mazikin²
PhD A.V. Kovaleva^1
1Federal Research Center for Innovator and Emerging Biomedical and Farmaceutical Technologies, Moscow
²I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow

Keywords: pre-start breathing, forced breathing, breath retention, hypoventilation breathing, athlete's performance.

Introduction. It is known that regular breathing exercises complement the physical training of athletes in order to improve their athletic performance [1], but the role of the pre-start breathing rhythm remains insufficiently investigated.
The purpose of the study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of various pre–start breathing rhythms on a person's physical performance when running an average distance.
Methodology and organization of the study. The experiment involved 16 young people aged 18-22 who regularly but not professionally engaged in sports and physical exercises, for whom running an average distance was one of the types of physical training. Their average running time was recorded. Once a week before the start, people breathed for 5 minutes in different rhythms: rhythmically 6 r/min, forced for 30, 40, 50 and 60 seconds and pauses between them with an involuntary breathing rhythm of 40 seconds, with breath delays of 30, 40, 50 and 60 seconds and pauses between them with an involuntary with a breathing rhythm of 40 seconds and rhythmically hypoventilation with prolonged pauses after exhalation. Pulse rate, blood pressure and arterial oxygen saturation were recorded in the initial state of the subjects and at the last minute of the pre-start breathing rhythm.
The results of the study and their discussion. The running time of each person for the distance after the pre-start arbitrary rhythmic breathing varied from 51 to 85 seconds, which was due to the different initial athletic training of young people. The running time of each person for a distance after pre-start arbitrary rhythmic breathing was considered the initial value, with which the running time was compared after other pre-start breathing rhythms, which could additionally affect the initial running time.
With pre–start rhythmic hypoventilation breathing, the running time decreased in all subjects from 1 to 8 seconds, changing on average by 3.2 ± 0.6 seconds, which could be due to an increase in the excitability of the respiratory center. A decrease in systolic blood pressure by an average of 7.9±3.0 mmHg before the start indicated a decrease in pre-start stress.
With pre-start intermittent forced breathing, the running time increased in all subjects from 1 to 16 seconds, changing on average by 5.7 ± 1.3 seconds. The running time after forced breathing was statistically significantly different at p≤0.001 from the time of their running after hypoventilation breathing. This could be due to a decrease in the excitability of the respiratory center before starting running and an increase in oxygen debt in working muscles during running. The pulse rate increased by an average of 15.8±3.6 times/min and statistically significantly differed at p≤0.005 from the pulse rate during rhythmic breathing and hypoventilation breathing and at p≤0.001 from the pulse rate during respiratory delays. The pre-launch tension was increasing. Similar results were obtained earlier. Pre-start deep breathing did not increase the working time on the bicycle ergometer to the limit of physiological possibility, but caused an increase in vegetative rearrangements in the body of the subjects.
Intermittent breathing delays had an ambiguous effect on people, contributing to some and preventing others from achieving athletic results.
Conclusions. Pre-start hypoventilation breathing improved the running time for the middle distance, and it could be recommended to athletes as a pre-start preparation of athletes. Pre-start forced breathing worsened the running time, and it is advisable to exclude it from the pre-start training of athletes.

References

1. Bağiran Y., Dağlioğlu Ö., Bostanci Ö. The effect of respiratory muscle training on aerobic power and respiratory parameters in swimmers. International Journal of Sport Exercise and Training Sciences-IJSETS. 2019;4(5):214-220.