Dynamic stability of locomotor respiratory coupling during cycling in humans

We explored the locomotor respiratory coupling (LRC) during a 50-min constant-load submaximal cycling exercise. A 4-week recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) treatment improved participants’ aerobic capabilities, but did not elicit significant changes in LRC. The distributions of the respiratory frequency over pedalling frequency ratios were systematically bimodal, with a preferred use of 1/3 and 1/2, and a progressive shift of the higher mode from 1/3 towards 1/2 with exercise duration. These results are interpreted in the framework of the sine circle map as the result of coordination dynamics between the physiological subsystems involved in the breathing pedalling cooperation.