Samenvatting

Background: Inspiratory Muscle Training is a well known tool used for treatment in COPD. Proven to improve endurance in patients suffering from this condition the question arises if this effect could be transferable towards healthy individuals. Athletes could benefit from improved performance if Inspiratory Muscle Training does have an effect on exercise tolerance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if maximal and submaximal endurance capacity can be improved by Inspiratory Muscle Training in endurance athletes.

Research question: Can Inspiratory Muscle Training increase exercise tolerance in endurance athletes by increasing maximal and submaximal exercise capacity?

Goal: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Inspiratory Muscle Training can be of use in an endurance athletes' training regimen in order to improve exercise tolerance.
Method: A literature review was done by analyzing Randomized Controlled Trials and Cohort Studies. Only endurance athletes were part of this review. PEDro and SIGN scales were quality assessment tools for the included articles. Outcomes that were looked at included VO2max, submaximal measures, peak work and subjective ratings of effort and dyspnea.

Results: Out of 132 articles, five proved to be relevant for this review. All five were of acceptable and high quality. VO2max, VO2 and heart rate showed no significance in between and in within groups. Inconclusive findings were found for peak work and subjective ratings.
Conclusion: No significant improvements could be found for VO2max and submaximal indicators. Inconclusive findings were found for peak work and subjective ratings of effort and dyspnea.