Innovative exercise for extrapulmonary benefits in COPD: feasibility, effects & mechanisms of supramaximal high-intensity training

The aim is to determine the feasibility & effect of a novel concept of supramaximal High-Intensity Training on muscle, brain, cardiovascular, and psychological function among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The aim is also to explore and compare the mechanisms of exercise effects between people with COPD and healthy matched controls and to explore how exercise intensity, muscles, brain, and cardiovascular function are linked together.

To achieve these aims, I will collaborate with an international multidisciplinary team of experts who are leaders in their respective fields, including physiotherapists, cell- & molecular biologists, neuroscientists, and physicians.In total, 152 individuals, including an equal amount of people with COPD & matched controls, will be enrolled in a series of high-quality randomized controlled cross-sectional and interventional trials.

The former will evaluate the feasibility and acute responses of supramaximal HIT, while, the latter will determine the effects and mechanisms of supramaximal HIT versus continuous exercise on 1) muscle, 2) brain, 3) cardiovascular, and 4) psychological function. Outcomes are assessed at baseline, 12 weeks, and 6 months.

We will also investigate the signaling pathways of supramaximal and continuous loading regimes in-vitro.

Altogether, our project has a unique opportunity to create new evidence on how to improve extrapulmonary manifestations of COPD in a hitherto unprecedented way.