1. Results INTRODUCTION: Little research has been done to analyze the acute effects of deep breathing warm ups on heart rate (HR), rate of perceived exertion (RPE), oxygen consumption (VO 2 ), or time to exhaustion. It is hypothesized that a deep breathing warm up will decrease HR, and RPE while increasing VO 2 and time to exhaustion. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine what effects, if any, that a deep breathing warm up will have on HR, RPE, VO 2, and time to exhaustion during a Bruce Protocol VO 2 Max Test. METHODS: Subjects between the age of 18 and 25 years were recruited in person around the UTA campus. Subjects filled out a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) prior to participation. Body fat percentages were collected using the bioelectrical impedance analysis method. Subjects were asked to perform two VO 2 Max tests using the Bruce Protocol. The order was counterbalanced to determine whether they would perform the deep breathing warm up before the first test or the second in order to account for learning effects. The deep breathing warm up the subjects were asked to perform was a 5 minute exercise where they inhale as deeply as they can and hold the breath for approximately 5 seconds and then exhale maximally and hold that for 5 seconds. The purpose of the warm up was not hyperventilation and subjects were told to breathe at their own pace if they started to become light headed. The two max tests were performed about one week apart in the exercise physiology lab at the MAC on the UTA campus. Subjects were allowed to refuse or withdraw at any time with no penalty. RESULTS: Five subjects agreed to the study (3 males, 2 females) with an average age of 22 + 0.71 yrs, average height of 69.7 + 3.31 inches, average body fat percentage of 18.4 + 9.94 % and an average weight of 175.7 + 19.15 pounds. In comparison to the control data, the deep breathing warm up data showed a decrease in HR by -0.6 + 3.13 bpm from 191.4 + 2.19 in the control to 190.8+ 3.90, however, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.69). RPE increased 0.4 + 0.89 from 17.4 + 1.14 to 17.8 + 0.45 with a p value of 0.37 (not significant). VO 2 increased 0.68 + 1.01 ml/kg/min from 43.38 + 8.83 to 44.06 + 9.74 with a p value of 0.21 (not significant). Time to exhaustion increased 38 + 30.72 seconds from 11:05 + 0.10 to 11:43 + 0.10 with a p value of 0.05 which was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: In looking at the data there was no significant difference between the max tests with a deep breathing warm up versus the max test when comparing HR, RPE, and VO 2. However there was a significant improvement in time to exhaustion in the deep breathing warm up data compared to the control data since it had a p value of 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval. Abstract Methods Purpose/Introduction Conclusions Cliff Gardner: Exercise Physiology Research Laboratory, The University of Texas Arlington, Arlington, Tx; Applied Exercise Physiology, Fall 2012. THE ACUTE EFFECTS OF A DEEP BREATHING WARM UP ON VO 2, HR, RPE, AND TIME TO EXHAUSTION The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of a deep breathing warm up on VO 2, HR, RPE, and Time To Exhaustion during a Bruce Protocol VO 2 Max Test. Past research has shown that breathing warm ups can improve performance during maximal rowing VO 2 max tests. Some studies showed that a cadence breathing warm up improved performance in cadence related sports such as rowing and running. Research has also shown that warming up muscles improves physical performance. Other studies have shown that breathing warm ups can reduce exercise-induced diaphragmatic fatigue in healthy individuals. However some studies showed conflicting data that said that breathing warm ups do not improve HR, or VO 2. This research study attempts to determine whether or not a deep breathing warm up will have the same effects on a treadmill max test that it was shown to have during maximal rowing exercise tests. Subjects age 18-25 were recruited from the UTA campus. Subjects were asked to fill out a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) prior to participation. Subjects were allowed to refuse or withdraw at any time without any consequences. Subjects height, weight, body fat percentage, and age data was collected prior to the study. Body fat percentage was collected using the bioelectrical impedance analysis method. Subjects were asked to perform 2 Bruce Protocol VO 2 Max Tests about one week apart on the Parvo Metabolic Cart in the Exercise Physiology Lab. Selection of which time the subjects would perform their deep breathing warm up was randomized by flipping a coin to minimize training effects skewing the collected data. The deep breathing exercise involved the subject inhaling maximally and holding it for 5 seconds and then exhaling maximally and holding that for 5 seconds for a total of 5 minutes just prior to the experimental max test. HR, RPE, and VO 2 were collected every 3 rd minute and at the max time of the test. Time to exhaustion was also recorded at the end of the test. Data was analyzed using a paired samples t-test and a confidence interval of 95%. Five subjects agreed to the study (3 males, 2 females). Average age was 22 + 0.71 years, average height was 69.7 + 3.31 inches, average body fat percentage was 18.4 + 9.94 % and average weight was175.7 + 19.15 pounds. In comparison to the control data, the deep breathing warm up data showed a decrease in HR by 0.6 + 3.13 bpm from 191.4 + 2.19 bpm in the control to 190.8+ 3.90 bpm in the experimental data, however, this was not statistically significant (p = 0.69). RPE increased 0.4 + 0.89 borg units from 17.4 + 1.14 in the control to 17.8 + 0.45 in experimental data with a p value of 0.37 (not significant). VO 2 increased 0.68 + 1.01 ml/kg/min from 43.38 + 8.83 to 44.06 + 9.74 with a p value of 0.21 (not significant). Time to exhaustion increased 38 + 30.72 seconds from 11:05 + 0.10 to 11:43 + 0.10 with a p value of 0.05 which was statistically significant. In looking at the data there was no significant difference between the max tests with a deep breathing warm up versus the control max tests when comparing HR, RPE, and VO 2. However there was a significant improvement in time to exhaustion in the deep breathing warm up data compared to the control data since it had a p value of 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval.