Intervention
RESPIRATORY COMPENSATION
Participation took place over 6 months comprising one assessment visit at baseline, and one visit at the end of the intervention, and two follow-up assessments after 3 and 6 months.Participants randomly assigned to the intervention group were asked to attend twice- to thrice-weekly supervised 45-min exercise sessions consisting of strength and endurance exercises. Strength exercises were set for 70% of the before assessed one repetition maximum (1-RM) during isotonic concentric activity and an additional 20% overload during eccentric activity and included leg press, squats, pull, crunch, back extension, and press for 1 min and 30 s pause in between for two rounds. Endurance exercises were set to power in Watts at the before-assessed respiratory compensation point (RCP) with 60–70 revolutions per minute (rpm) and included using a bike-ergometer and crosstrainer. Exercise compliance was assessed using the Technogym assessment tool (Technogym™, TECHNOGYM GERMANY GMBH, Neu-Isenburg, Germany).Participants randomly assigned to the control group were given no restrictions.