Heat to hypoxia cross-adaptation: Effects of 6-week post-exercise hot-water immersion on exercise performance in acute hypoxia.

ABSTRACT: Cross-adaptation occurs when exposure to one environmental stressor (e.g., heat) induces protective responses to another (e.g., hypoxia). Although post-exercise hot-water immersion (HWI) induces heat acclimation, its potential to elicit cross-adaptation remains unclear. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a 6-week post-exercise HWI intervention on exercise performance in hypoxia (O₂ = 13%). Twenty healthy volunteers (28 ± 5 years; V̇O2peak${\dot V_{{{\mathrm{O}}_2}{\mathrm{peak}}}}$ 47.4 ± 8.9 mL kg^-1 min^-1; 12 males, 8 females) completed interval cycling (4×4 min at 90 ± 5% maximal heart rate, 3×/week) followed by water immersion at either 34.5°C (control) or 42°C (HWI) for 40-50 min, five times per week. Following the 6-week intervention, the post-e

SUBMITTER: Rodrigues P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12756880 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature