Näsandning under högintensiv idrottsprestation och upplevd ansträngning : En experimentell studie om näsandningens effekt på Crossfit-atleter

Sammanfattning: Background: Breathing is necessary for all human life, in order to give oxygen to muscles and to release energy by oxidation of nutrients. Breathing becomes even more important during physical activities, and especially during high intensity training. One training method that has grown in popularity during the 21st century is Crossfit. This training method puts high demands on the muscles, and a good ability to provide oxygen to the muscles is necessary for a good performance. Throughout the years, studies have been made to investigate how different breathing methods could affect the performance during physical activity. Though, there are not any studies that focus on breathing methods impact on performance during high intensity physical activity. Purpose: The purpose was to investigate if the performance, measured in time, number of repetitions, and perceived exertion was affected by conscious controlled nostril breathing during high intensity power training, as well as, compared to self-chosen breathing, for individuals training Crossfit. Method: This study was an experimental crossover study. The study was carried out in order to see which impact nostril breathing have on the performance, compared to self-chosen breathing. Participants were randomized selected into two groups, where each group did a test with nostril breathing and one test with self-chose breathing. Each participant did a max-test during one minute in each movement: double unders, push ups, box jumps, burpees and air squat, as well as a WOD of 500m row, 30 kettlebellswing and 20 pullups. Each participant also stated his or her perceived exertion after each test, using the Borgscale. Results: There were a significant difference between the interventions for performance measured in number of repetitions for the movements’ box jump and burpees, where nostril breathing had a significant negative impact on the performance compared to self-chose breathing. The performance for the rest of the movements, double unders, push ups, air squat, WOD and perceived exertion was not significant effected by the two breathing methods in this study. Conclusion: There was a significant impairment for the movements’ box jumps and burpees. There were no significant differences in air squat, push ups, double unders, WOD or perceived exertion. The future recommendation is to avoid nostril breathing during similar movements that involves multiple muscles and requires significant agility movements.