PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether there would be a significant improvement in repeated sprint ability in collegiate-level footballers, after the completion of a four-week inspiratory muscle training (IMT) intervention.
METHODS: 15 male collegiate-level football players (age = 21.1 ± 2.4 years), participated in the study. Participants completed a repeated shuttle sprint ability test (RSSA), and a maximal inspiratory pressure test, before and after a four-week intervention. They were then split into either an intervention or control group. The RSSA consisted of the participant completing a warm-up, before six maximal 40-meter sprints, with a 180° turn halfway through, and a 20-second rest between each sprint. The intervention group completed 30 self-paced breaths, twice per day for four weeks using a portable inspiratory muscle training device (Plus, POWERbreathe International Ltd, Warwickshire, United Kingdom), set to 50% of each participant’s maximal inspiratory pressure.
RESULTS: No significant differences were seen between the baseline test results and the post-intervention test results, in either the control or experimental group. There were also no significant differences between the two groups after the intervention.
CONCLUSION: This study found no significant differences between IMT and RSA performance. Further research with a larger sample is warranted to investigate this relationship.
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