Hyperventilation Boosts Early Power but Increases Fatigue in Athletes

A new study published in BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation indicates that voluntary hyperventilation before high-intensity exercise produces a transient increase in mechanical power output, but this benefit is limited to the first ten seconds of the activity. The research, conducted by Cevriye Ünal, Sümeyye Genç, and Erkan Günay, examined how pre-exercise breathing techniques alter the time course of power output and cardiorespiratory responses during a 30-second Wingate Anaerobic Test. The findings suggest that while hyperventilation may provide an initial boost in performance, it is accompanied by a greater fatigue index and specific changes in ventilatory and heart rate responses that do not translate into improved overall 30-second performance.

The study was designed to address the unclear time-dependent effects of voluntary hyperventilation within a single all-out exercise bout. While this technique has been proposed as an ergogenic aid for high-intensity exercise, previous research had not sufficiently detailed how it affects performance across different time segments of a short, maximal effort.

Eighteen male competitive athletes participated in the study, which utilized a randomized crossover design. Each participant completed two sessions: a control session and a hyperventilation session. In the hyperventilation session, athletes performed 30 breaths per minute for two minutes before starting the 30-second Wingate Anaerobic Test. During the test, power output, breath-by-breath gas exchange, and heart rate were measured and averaged over three consecutive 10-second segments: 0–10 seconds, 10–20 seconds, and 20–30 seconds.

The results showed that the hyperventilation session elicited higher relative peak power compared to the control session. Specifically, during the first 10 seconds, the relative peak power was 13.51 ± 2.09 W/kg in the hyperventilation condition versus 12.67 ± 1.83 W/kg in the control condition. The relative mean power was also higher in the first 10 seconds, with values of 11.26 ± 1.52 W/kg for hyperventilation and 10.71 ± 1.28 W/kg for control. These differences were statistically significant, indicating that the breathing technique provided a measurable advantage in the initial phase of the test. However, this advantage did not persist throughout the entire 30-second duration.

Conversely, the fatigue index was significantly greater in the hyperventilation session, with a value of 58.80 ± 13.71% compared to 49.02 ± 8.87% in the control session.

Cardiorespiratory responses also varied between the two conditions. Heart rate was lower in the hyperventilation session during the final 10 seconds of the test. These physiological changes suggest that hyperventilation alters the body’s respiratory and cardiovascular regulation in a time-dependent manner.

The study was registered retrospectively on ClinicalTrials.gov under the identifier NCT07797205. The authors concluded that two minutes of pre-exercise voluntary hyperventilation produces a transient increase in power output limited to the first 10 seconds of the Wingate test. This initial boost is accompanied by a greater fatigue index and phase-specific changes in ventilatory and heart rate responses. The overall implication is that hyperventilation alters the time course of the response to all-out exercise rather than improving overall 30-second performance.

While the study provides clear evidence of the acute effects of hyperventilation on power output and cardiorespiratory responses, it is limited to a specific population of male competitive athletes and a single type of anaerobic test.

Subject of Research: Acute effects of pre-exercise voluntary hyperventilation on power output and cardiorespiratory responses during a 30-s Wingate test

Article Title: Acute effects of pre-exercise voluntary hyperventilation on the time course of power output and cardiorespiratory responses during a 30-s wingate test

Article References: Ünal, C., Genç, S., & Günay, E. (2026). Acute effects of pre-exercise voluntary hyperventilation on the time course of power output and cardiorespiratory responses during a 30-s wingate test. BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13102-026-02223-5

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s13102-026-02223-5

Keywords: hyperventilation, anaerobic power, Wingate test, cardiorespiratory responses, fatigue index, exercise physiology, ergogenic aids, sports science, Acute, effects, pre-exercise, voluntary