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The effects of inspiratory muscle training on respiratory function and aerobic capacity in sedentary adolescents: A single-blind randomized controlled trial
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  • Published: 22 March 2026

The effects of inspiratory muscle training on respiratory function and aerobic capacity in sedentary adolescents: A single-blind randomized controlled trial

  • Guangxin Li1 na1,
  • Yueming Zhao1 na1,
  • Ting Mo1,
  • Zhanjia Zhang2,
  • Xin Zhang1 &
  • …
  • Shilun Hou1 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Diseases
  • Health care
  • Medical research
  • Physiology

Abstract

Inspiratory muscle training (IMT) is widely implemented among athletes and patients, but its effects in sedentary adolescent students remain unclear. This randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of 12-week IMT on respiratory function and aerobic capacity in sedentary adolescent boys. For this aim, 41 sedentary male-adolescents (16–18 years) were assigned randomly into IMT (n = 20) or Sham (n = 21) group. IMT was performed 3 days/week, 3 sets of 30 repetitions daily over 12 weeks. The forced vital capacity (FVC), maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), peak inspiratory flow (PIF), forced inspiratory volume (FIV), maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), running distance, maximal heart rate and heart rate recovery at 1/3/5 minute (HRR1/3/5) were assessed before and after intervention. Two-way mixed ANOVA or generalized estimating equations was conducted to analyze group×time interactions. Significant group×time interactions were observed for all respiratory function parameters and for VO₂max, running distance, and HRR1 (P < 0.05). Post-intervention, the IMT group showed significantly higher MIP, PIF, FIV, VO₂max, running distance, and HRR1 compared to the Sham group (P < 0.05). The augmentation value was also substantially greater in the IMT group across all outcomes (P < 0.05). These findings suggest 12-week IMT effectively enhances respiratory function and aerobic endurance in sedentary adolescent males. This trial was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (Registration ID ChiCTR2600117069, 3/12/2025).

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the participants for volunteering their time and efforts for this study. We also thank all the athletes for their time and effort. This research was supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Exercise Rehabilitation Science Laboratory, No.2024KFZX007). The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author who was an organizer of the study.

Funding

This work was supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Exercise Rehabilitation Science Laboratory, No.2024KFZX007).

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Author notes

  1. These authors jointly supervised this work and shared first authorship: Guangxin Li and Yueming Zhao.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China

    Guangxin Li, Yueming Zhao, Ting Mo, Xin Zhang & Shilun Hou

  2. Department of Physical Education, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Zhanjia Zhang

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  1. Guangxin Li
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Contributions

Guangxin Li and Yueming Zhao contributed to conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, and writing—original draft preparation and reviewing. Ting Mo contributed to software and methodology. Zhanjia Zhang contributed to visualization and methodology. Xin Zhang and Shilun Hou contributed to conceptualization, resources, supervision, validation, writing-review & editing and final approval. All authors have approved publishment of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xin Zhang or Shilun Hou.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The study was approved by the Sports Science Experiment Ethics Committee of Beijing Sport University (Approval No. :2024382 H), and written informed consent was obtained from all participants and their parents before allocation. All procedures performed in the present study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committees and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments, or with comparable ethical standards. This trial was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2600117069, 3/12/2025).

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Li, G., Zhao, Y., Mo, T. et al. The effects of inspiratory muscle training on respiratory function and aerobic capacity in sedentary adolescents: A single-blind randomized controlled trial. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-44416-5

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  • Received: 21 January 2026

  • Accepted: 11 March 2026

  • Published: 22 March 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-44416-5

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Keywords

  • Sedentary adolescent
  • Inspiratory muscle training
  • MIP
  • MEP
  • Aerobic capacity
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