Program and book of abstracts 1st conference

October 17 th – 20 th , 2022, Congress Centre of Slovak Academy of Sciences, Smolenice castle, Slovakia

Botek Michal

Is a member of the Department of Natural Sciences in Kinanthropology, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacky University Olomouc, where he is responsible for teaching Exercise and Sports Physiology. Currently, his primary research focus is on the application of molecular hydrogen supplementation in sports medicine and health sciences, the physiological response to normobaric hypoxia, and autonomic cardiac assessment via heart rate variability. He is a member of the European Academy for Molecular Hydrogen Research in Biomedicine. To date, he has published 41 scientific articles, with 351 citations, and has an h-index of 11.

MOLECULAR HYDROGEN APPLICATION IN EXERCISE AND TRAINING – CURRENT KNOWLEDGE AND FUTURE PROSPECTS Department of Natural Sciences in Kinanthropology, Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic BACKGROUND: The unique bio-properties of molecular hydrogen (H2) together with its ergogenic and recovery enhancing effects have resulted in increased research interest over the past two decades. OBJECTIVES: The primary focus of our research has been to investigate the ergogenic effects of H2 across different modes of exercise and populations. We have evaluated the performance and recovery benefits after H2 supplementation, with the results providing initial guidelines for H2 application in training and competition. METHODS: All studies were designed as randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled cross-over trials. H2 supplementation was performed via hydrogen rich water (HRW) consumption that had the following characteristics, pH = 7.9, oxidation-reduction potential = −652 mV, and dissolved H2 concentration = 0.9. ppm. The supplementation strategy and dose of HRWvaried across studies depending on the specific mode of exercise and exercise protocol design. RESULTS: An ergogenic effect of HRW intake was found for the following modes of exercise. There was an ~2% improvement in running time during the last 30m sprint of 15x30 sprints in professional soccer players. HRW elicited better muscle function during the last 20 repetitions of lunges that were performed 8% faster compared to placebo group. HRW significantly reduced exercise and post-exercise lactate response, and alleviated delayed onset of muscle soreness within 24 h of recovery after a strength training session. In addition, the magnitude of the ergogenic effect of HRW on up-hill running performance depended on individual athlete performance level, with a greater ergogenic effect occuring in lower level athletes. CONCLUSION: Acute, pre-exercise HRW supplementation seems to be an effective strategy for performance enhancement. However, there are further issues that need to be solved. For instance, the effect of chronic H2 application on the adaptation and recovery response in functional overreached/overtrained athletes.

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