{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,6]],"date-time":"2026-06-06T00:01:46Z","timestamp":1780704106803,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,23]],"date-time":"2024-07-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1721692800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the China Institute of Sport Science"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The effects of face immersion and concurrent exercise on the diving reflex evoked by breath-hold (BH) differ, yet little is known about the combined effects of different BH conditions on aerobic fitness in elite athletes. This study aimed to assess the acute effects of various BH conditions on 18 male elite rugby players (age: 23.5 \u00b1 1.8 years; height: 183.3 \u00b1 3.4 cm; body mass: 84.8 \u00b1 8.5 kg) and identify the BH condition eliciting the greatest aerobic fitness activation. Participants underwent five warm-up conditions: baseline regular breathing, dynamic dry BH (DD), static dry BH (SD), wet dynamic BH (WD), and wet static BH (WS). Significant differences (p &lt; 0.05) were found in red blood cells (RBCs), red blood cell volume (RGB), and hematocrit (HCT) pre- and post-warm-up. Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and relative oxygen uptake (VO2\/kgpeak) varied significantly across conditions, with BH groups showing notably higher values than the regular breathing group (p &lt; 0.05). Interaction effects of facial immersion and movement conditions were significant for VO2peak, VO2\/kgpeak, and the cardiopulmonary optimal point (p &lt; 0.05). Specifically, VO2peak and peak stroke volume (SVpeak) were significantly higher in the DD group compared to that in other conditions. Increases in VO2peak were strongly correlated with changes in RBCs and HCT induced by DD warm-up (r\u2206RBC = 0.84, r\u2206HCT = 0.77, p &lt; 0.01). In conclusion, DD BH warm-up appears to optimize subsequent aerobic performance in elite athletes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life14080917","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,24]],"date-time":"2024-07-24T15:47:32Z","timestamp":1721836052000},"page":"917","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Acute Effects of Breath-Hold Conditions on Aerobic Fitness in Elite Rugby Players"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3431-6209","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wendi","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Sports Rehabilitation Research Center, China Institute of Sport Science, Beijing 100061, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3253-933X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dongzhe","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sports Rehabilitation Research Center, China Institute of Sport Science, Beijing 100061, China"},{"name":"School of Sport Science, Beijing Sport University, Beijing 100084, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hao","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sports Rehabilitation Research Center, China Institute of Sport Science, Beijing 100061, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhiqiang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports and Arts, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xuming","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports and Arts, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shufeng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports and Arts, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongjin","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sports and Arts, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xiaolin","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sports Rehabilitation Research Center, China Institute of Sport Science, Beijing 100061, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1005","DOI":"10.1152\/japplphysiol.01057.2002","article-title":"Cardiovascular and respiratory responses to apneas with and without face immersion in exercising humans","volume":"96","author":"Andersson","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. 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