Research done at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has found wearing a mask doesn’t affect a person’s ability to breath while they exercise vigorously.
Physically-fit and active participants featuring seven men and seven woman each rode a stationary bike three times until they reached the exhaustion — once with no mask, the other two with a surgical mask and a three-ply cloth mask.
Their diet, physical activity and sleep were controlled 24 hours before the test.
All participants did a warm up ride and had their heart rates monitored through each test, usually ranging between six to twelve minutes while getting gradually tougher.
USask College of Kinesiology professor Dr. Phil Chilibeck says the results were similar to other studies done on the same topic.
“From our analysis, we can combine our study with previous studies,” co-author of the study Chilibeck said. “(It really does not) have that much of an effect on your exercise performance.”
Chilibeck says being at a gym where people are breathing and working out hard… could mean they are susceptible to catching COVID-19.
“When you are exercising without a facemask the problem is your respiratory droplets travel alot further when you are breathing hard,” said Chilibeck.
Chilibeck says the bodies performance the blood and muscle oxygen levels in all participants were not affected by the use of a mask.
He says this is also the case for a health-care worker or if you are walking around in public. The mask does not compromise a person’s oxygen flow and limit the ability to breath out carbon dioxide.
“If we can show that it doesn’t affect you if you are doing vigorous exercise or walking around outside or in the province’s mandated (indoor) public spaces, (then it) shouldn’t be a problem for most people,” said Chilibeck.
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