SAMBA Trial: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Severe Asthma Management: Deep Analysis of the Effect of suBmaximal Aerobic Training

Arm Description: The aerobic training program will be performed indoor three times a week for 12 weeks, under the direct supervision of a chest physician and a physiotherapist. Each aerobic training session will last 75 minutes and will be divided in 5 min of warm-up, 60 min of aerobic training (including 20 minutes on three different ergometers: bicycle, treadmill and rower/elliptical trainers) and 10 min of cool-down. Training intensity is determined by the maximal aerobic power (MAP) previously measured during an initial cardiopulmonary exercise test. Progressive increase in training load during the first three weeks (3x20 minutes at 50% of MAP), followed by 3x20 min at 60% of MAP from weeks 4 to 6, then 3x20 min at 70% of MAP from week 7 to week 9. Finally trainings from week 10 to week 12 include one session of interval training and two sessions of continuous training.

Arm Description: Exercises to improve the way of breathing. The breathing exercise sessions will last 30 minutes and be supervised by a physiotherapist 3 times per week.