The effect of deviced respiratory muscle exercises on respiratory functions in sedentary women performing step aerobic exercise

In recent years, there is no study examining the effects of respiratory muscle exercises, which are applied for both rehabilitation and improvement of sports performance, on respiratory functions during the rest between sets. The first aim of this study, which aims to fill this gap in the literature, is to compare the effects of instrumented respiratory muscle exercises applied at different times to sedentary women doing step aerobic exercise on respiratory functions, and the second aim is to examine the effect of step aerobic exercises on body fat percentage (BFF). 32 sedentary women between the ages of 18-24 participated in the study voluntarily. Participants were divided into 3 groups. The group that performed respiratory muscle exercise during the rest between sets of step aerobic exercise (Exercise+RMEG) (n=10), the group that performed respiratory muscle exercise at home in addition to step aerobic exercise (Home+RMEG) (n=10) and that performed only step aerobic exercise control group (CG) (n=12). While all groups applied the same step aerobic exercise program 3 days a week for 8 weeks, Exercise + RMEG and Home + RMEG also performed respiratory muscle exercises. The respiratory functions of the participants were measured twice with a spirometer device, and their BEF with a bioelectrical impedance analyzer and skinfold device, at the beginning of the study and at the end of the 8th week. In the analysis of the data, Repeated Measures Two-Way ANOVA test was used to examine the results of different protocols, pre-post test measurements and protocol*time interaction effect. As a result of the analysis of the data, it was determined that the respiratory parameters in all groups improved statistically significantly from the pre-test to the post-test, while this improvement was found to be the highest in Exercise + RMEG as a percentage. A statistically significant decrease was determined in BFP from pre-test to post-test in all groups. As a result, it can be said that step aerobic exercises are an effective method in both increasing respiratory functions and reducing BFP, and that respiratory muscle exercises with deviced applied together with step aerobic exercises provide more improvement in respiratory parameters. For this reason, it is thought that deviced respiratory muscle exercises performed together with exercise can be applied as an alternative method to increase respiratory parameters.