Inspiratory muscle warm-ups may give athletes a small performance boost, review finds
A review of trained and competitive athletes found moderate-certainty gains in immediate inspiratory function, but only low-certainty evidence of a small performance benefit.
Frontiers in Physiology published the review on November 6, 2026. It included 19 reports, and 15 contributed to at least one pooled analysis.1
The review examined an inspiratory muscle warm-up (IMW) added to athletes’ usual or sport-specific warm-up. Across 13 comparisons with 171 participants, the performance analysis favored IMW, but the average effect was small.1
The authors rated the performance evidence low certainty and said the practical size of any gain remained uncertain. They said the most common protocol used two sets of about 30 breaths at 40% of maximal inspiratory pressure, but the review did not establish an optimal dose.1
The effect on perceived breathing effort also remained uncertain. For coaches, the review pointed to a possible brief warm-up addition, not a proven practical performance gain.1
