Does voluntary hypoventilation during exercise impact EMG activity?

It has been reported that exercise under hypoxic conditions induces reduced muscle oxygenation, which could be related to enhanced activity on electromyography (EMG). Although it has been demonstrated that exercise under conditions of voluntary hypoventilation (VH) evokes muscle deoxygenation, it is unclear whether VH during exercise impacts EMG. Seven men performed bicycle exercise for 5 min at 65 % of peak oxygen uptake with normal breathing (NB) and VH. Muscle oxygenation; concentration changes in oxyhemoglobin (Oxy-Hb), deoxyhemoglobin (Deoxy-Hb) and total hemoglobin (Total-Hb); and surface EMG in the vastus lateralis muscle were simultaneously measured. In the VH condition, Oxy-Hb was significantly lower and Deoxy-Hb was significantly higher compared to those in the NB condition (P < 0.05 for both), whereas there was no significant difference in Total-Hb between the two conditions. We observed significantly higher values (P < 0.05) on integrated EMG during exercise under VH conditions compared to those under NB conditions. This study suggests that VH during exercise augments EMG activity.