10 or 30-s sprint interval training bouts enhance both aerobic and anaerobic performance

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  • 8/13/2019 10 or 30-s Sprint Interval Training Bouts Enhance Both Aerobic and Anaerobic Performance

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    O R I G I N A L A R T I C L E

    10 or 30-s sprint interval training bouts enhance both aerobicand anaerobic performance

    Tom J. Hazell Rebecca E. K. MacPherson

    Braden M. R. Gravelle Peter W. R. Lemon

    Accepted: 1 April 2010

    Springer-Verlag 2010

    Abstract We assessed whether 10-s sprint interval

    training (SIT) bouts with 2 or 4 min recovery periods canimprove aerobic and anaerobic performance. Subjects

    (n = 48) were assigned to one of four groups [exercise

    time (s):recovery time (min)]: (1) 30:4, (2) 10:4, (3) 10:2 or

    (4) control (no training). Training was cycling 3 week-1

    for 2 weeks (starting with 4 bouts session-1, increasing 1

    bout every 2 sessions, 6 total). Pre- and post-training

    measures included: VO2max, 5-km time trial (TT), and a

    30-s Wingate test. All groups were similar pre-training and

    the control group did not change over time. The 10-s

    groups trained at a higher intensity demonstrated by greater

    (P\ 0.05) reproducibility of peak (10:4 = 96%; 10:2=

    95% vs. 30:4 = 89%), average (10:4 = 84%; 10:2 = 82%

    vs. 30:4 = 58%), and minimum power (10:4= 73%;

    10:2 = 69%; vs. 30:4 = 40%) within each session while

    the 30:4 group performed *2X (P\ 0.05) the total

    work session-1 (83124 kJ, 46 bouts) versus 10:4 (38

    58 kJ); 10:2 (3959 kJ). Training increased TT perfor-

    mance (P\ 0.05) in the 30:4 (5.2%), 10:4 (3.5%), and

    10:2 (3.0%) groups. VO2max increased in the 30:4 (9.3%)

    and 10:4 (9.2%), but not the 10:2 group. Wingate peakpower kg-1 increased (P\ 0.05) in the 30:4 (9.5%), 10:4

    (8.5%), and 10:2 (4.2%). Average Wingate power kg-1

    increased (P\ 0.05) in the 30:4 (12.1%) and 10:4 (6.5%)

    groups. These data indicate that 10-s (with either 2 or 4 min

    recovery) and 30-s SIT bouts are effective for increasing

    anaerobic and aerobic performance.

    Keywords Endurance training Cycling VO2max

    Time trial Wingate

    Introduction

    Recently, a novel type of high-intensity interval training

    known as sprint interval training (SIT; 46 repeated

    all-out 30-s efforts separated by 4 min recovery) has

    demonstrated increases inVO2maxand aerobic performance

    (230-km time trials; Burgomaster et al. 2006, 2007;

    Gibala et al. 2006). Apparently, the repeated SIT bouts

    stress many of the physiological/biochemical systems used

    in aerobic efforts (Daniels and Scardina1984; Laursen and

    Jenkins 2002). Further, SIT also induces alterations in

    glycolytic enzymes, muscle buffering, and ionic regulation

    resulting in improved anaerobic performance (Burgomaster

    et al. 2005,2006,2007; Gibala et al. 2006; Harmer et al.

    2000; MacDougall et al. 1998; Stathis et al. 1994).

    Individual SIT bouts are characterized by a peak power

    output in the first 510 s followed by a precipitous decline

    over the remaining 2025 s. Although clearly these kinds

    of efforts represent a powerful training stimulus, whether

    the mechanism responsible is the first 10 s (generation of

    peak power), the entire 30 s (attempted maintenance of a

    high power output), or the length of the recovery period

    Communicated by Susan Ward.

    T. J. Hazell (&) R. E. K. MacPherson

    B. M. R. Gravelle P. W. R. Lemon

    Exercise Nutrition Research Laboratory,Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Kinesiology,

    2235 3M Centre, The University of Western Ontario,

    London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada

    e-mail: [email protected]

    R. E. K. MacPherson

    e-mail: [email protected]

    B. M. R. Gravelle

    e-mail: [email protected]

    P. W. R. Lemon

    e-mail: [email protected]

    1 3

    Eur J Appl Physiol

    DOI 10.1007/s00421-010-1474-y

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    between repeats is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this

    study was to compare the established, effective SIT pro-

    tocol (30 s all-out efforts with 4 min recovery) versus

    two modified types of SIT (10 s all-out efforts with

    either 4 min or 2 min recovery) on both aerobic and

    anaerobic performance. We hypothesized that the peak

    power generation is most important and, therefore, the 10 s

    efforts would be effective.

    Methods

    Subjects

    Forty-eight young adults (26 kinesiology students, 19

    ultimate Frisbee players, and 3 other physically active

    individuals; 35 men and 13 women) volunteered to par-

    ticipate (24 3.2 years, 173 9.3 cm, 74 13.7 kg,

    17 8.1% body fat, 47 6.7 ml kg

    -1

    min

    -1

    ). Prior toany participation, the experimental procedures and poten-

    tial risks were explained fully to the subjects and all pro-

    vided written informed consent. They were healthy as

    assessed by the PAR-Q health questionnaire (Thomas et al.

    1992) and, although all were physically active, none were

    currently involved in an exercise training program nor had

    they been for at least 4 months prior to the study. Dietary

    and physical activity patterns were maintained throughout

    the study and no alcohol, caffeine, or exercise was allowed

    for 24 h before each testing or training session. Participants

    were matched into four groups based on the sex, time trial

    performance, andVO2max. This study was approved by theUniversity of Western Ontario Ethics Committee for

    Research on Human Subjects.

    Study design

    Participants completed 2-weeks of cycle training (3 ses-

    sion week-1) in one of the three SIT groups while the

    control group did not train. Pre- and post- the 2 week

    intervention, each completed tests for body composition,

    VO2max, anaerobic power (30-s Wingate), and 5-km cycling

    time trial performance (see details below). All tests were

    separated by at least 24 h and to standardize recovery, post-testing occurred within 7296 h of the final training

    session.

    Pre-experimental procedures

    Prior to any baseline testing, all participants attended a

    laboratory familiarization visit to introduce the testing/

    training procedures and also to ensure that any learning

    effect was minimal for the baseline measures.

    Baseline testing

    All exercise tests were performed at the same time of day

    on separate days, separated by at least 24 h, and at least

    24 h prior to any training. Baseline testing was performed

    in the same order for all subjects and consisted of four

    measures.

    1. VO2max test: An incremental test to exhaustion on an

    electronically braked cycle ergometer (Ergo-metrics

    800 s, SensorMedics, CA, USA) was utilized to

    determine VO2max using an online breath by breath

    gas collection system (Vmax Legacy, Sensor Medics,

    CA, USA). Briefly, following a 5 min warm-up at

    50 W, the test began at a workload of 20 W with the

    workload increasing 25 W every minute for males

    (5 W every 12 s) and 20 W every minute for females

    (5 W every 15 s). VO2max was taken as the highest

    value averaged over 30-s collection periods; 43 of 48

    subjects reached a plateau in VO2 (\

    50% of theexpected increase for the workload). The other five

    subjects attained a max HR[ 91% of the age

    predicted max (190 8 bpm), an RER[ 1.1, and a

    VO2 increase of 6595% of predicted for the increase

    in workload. Prior to testing, the analyzers were

    calibrated with gases of known concentration and

    volumes with a 3-l syringe.

    2. 5-km time trial: A 5-km time trial on a customized

    cycle ergometer interfaced with a computerized,

    virtual road race course (CompuTrainer) was used

    to assess exercise performance. Participants received

    instantaneous feedback throughout the 5-km race via acomputer video image of themselves and a competitor

    programmed to complete their baseline performance.

    In addition to the video images of both riders, previous

    best time, time elapsed, current speed, and distance

    ahead/behind (m) of the competitor was available on

    the monitor. This feedback was provided to ensure

    maximum motivation for the entire time trial. The time

    trial was completed on three separate occasions prior

    to any training to minimize learning and/or the effect

    of day to day variability. The mean of the two fastest

    efforts was used as the baseline performance time.

    3. Wingate anaerobic cycle test: A 30-s Wingate anaer-obic cycle test using a mechanically braked cycle

    ergometer (model 814E bicycle ergometer, Monark,

    Stockholm, Sweden) against a resistance equaling

    100 g kg-1 body mass. Instructions to begin pedaling

    as fast as possible against the inertial resistance of the

    ergometer were given and the appropriate load was

    applied instantaneously (within 3 s). Verbal encour-

    agement was provided for the remainder of the 30-s

    test. Peak power (highest power output over any 5-s

    Eur J Appl Physiol

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    period) and average power (over the entire effort) were

    determined using an online data-acquisition system

    (Monark Wingate Ergometer Test, Monark Body

    Guard, AB, Version 1.0).

    4. Body composition analysis: Body composition (lean

    mass and fat mass) was determined by whole body

    densitometry (BodPod, Life Measurements, Concord,

    CA) as previously described (Dempster and Aitkens1995; Noreen and Lemon 2006). Briefly, participants

    wore approved clothing, i.e., tight swimsuit or com-

    pression shorts, Lycra cap, and for the women, a

    sports bra, were weighed, sat in an air tight chamber

    for several determinations, a predictive equation

    integral to the BodPod software was used to estimate

    thoracic gas volume, and the attained value for body

    density was used in the Siri equation to estimate body

    composition (Siri1961).

    Training

    After the baseline procedures, participants were assigned to

    one of the three training groups (30-s exercise:4 min

    recovery, 10 s:4 min, 10 s:2 min) or the control group (C)

    based on their time trial performance, VO2max, and sex.

    Training commenced *48 h after their third baseline

    performance test and consisted of three training sessions

    per week over 2 weeks with 4872 h recovery between

    training sessions. All training was completed using a load

    of 100 g kg body mass-1.

    Group 30 s:4 min: Performed repeated, 30 s all-out

    efforts separated by 4 min of active recovery (unloaded

    cycling) similar to previous studies (Burgomaster et al.

    2008; Gibala et al. 2006).

    Group 10 s:4 min: Performed repeated, 10 s all-out

    efforts separated by 4 min of active recovery (unloaded

    cycling).

    Group 10 s:2 min: Performed repeated, 10 s all-out

    efforts separated by 2 min of active recovery (unloaded

    cycling).

    Training progression was accomplished by increasing

    the number of repeats from four repetitions during the first

    two training sessions, to five repetitions during the middletwo training sessions, and then to six repetitions for the

    final two training sessions as has been done previously

    (Gibala et al. 2006).

    Reproducibility of power measures within a training

    session

    To quantify the training intensity of each group the peak

    power output of each sprint bout per training session were

    summed, averaged, divided by the greatest peak power

    output during all training sessions and expressed as a percent

    ([peak power 1 ? peak power 2 ? peak power 3? peak

    power 6/6]/highest peak9 100). Similarly, average and

    minimum power output during the training sessions were

    determined for all groups. Finally, total work performed

    during each training session was calculated (average power

    output 9 time) for all three training groups.

    Post-training testing

    Post-training measures were identical to the baseline testing

    andcompleted within4896 h after thefinal training session.

    Statistics

    Statistical analyses were performed using Sigma Stat for

    Windows (Version 3.5). After testing for normality and

    variance homogeneity, two-way (treatment 9 time) repe-

    ated measures ANOVA were used to test significanceamong groups pre- and post-training, with Tukeys post

    hoc testing, where necessary. One-way ANOVA were also

    used to test for significant differences in training intensities

    (reproducibility of peak power output, average power

    output, and total work output) among groups. The signifi-

    cance level was set at P\0.05. All data are presented as

    mean standard deviation (SD).

    Results

    Time trial

    The 5-km cycling time trial was completed in approxi-

    mately 9.5 min for all groups at baseline (P = 0.620). All

    three training groups improved their time trial performance

    significantly over the 2-weeks of exercise (Fig.1);

    30 s:4 min improved by 5.2% (-28.9 s; P\ 0.001),

    10 s:4 min by 3.5% (-19.8 s; P = 0.003), and 10 s:2 min

    group by 3.0% (-15.7 s; P = 0.022). None of these per-

    formance gains were significantly different among training

    groups. As expected, the control group showed no change

    (from 588 118 to 587 116 s; P = 0.862).

    VO2max

    There was no significant difference in the baseline values

    among groups (P = 0.627) but there was a significant inter-

    action with time (training group versus time; P = 0.015;

    Fig. 2). VO2max increased 9.3% (4.3 ml kg-1 min-1; P\

    0.001) in the30 s:4 min groupand 9.2% (4.5 ml kg-1 min-1;

    P\0.001) in the 10 s:4 min group. In the 10 s:2 min group,

    the increase in VO2max approached statistical significance

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    (3.8%; 1.8 ml kg-1 min-1; P = 0.06). There were no sig-

    nificant differences among training groups. The control

    group showed no change in VO2max (from 45.2 4.6 to

    45.3 3.5 ml kg-1 min-1;P = 0.899).

    Relative peak power output

    There was no significant difference in baseline relative peak

    power output among groups (P = 0.437), but there was a

    significant interaction with time (training group vs. time;

    P = 0.017; Fig.3). The 30 s:4 min group increased 9.5%

    (1.3 W kg-1; P\ 0.001), the 10 s:4 min group increased

    8.5% (1.3 W kg-1;P\ 0.001) while the 10 s:2 min group

    improved 4.2% (0.6 W kg-1; P = 0.029). None of these

    observed group gains were significantly different from each

    other. The control group showed no change (14.2 1.9 to

    14.2 1.6 W kg-1;P = 0.959).

    Relative average power output

    Baseline relative average power output values were similaramong groups (P = 0.383) and there was a significant

    interaction with time (training group vs. time; P = 0.002;

    Fig. 4). The 30 s:4 min group improved 12.1% (1.0 W kg-1;

    P\ 0.001) and the 10 s:4 min group increased 6.5%

    (0.6 W kg-1; P = 0.003). The observed increase in the

    10 s:2 min group (2.9%; 0.3 W kg-1) failed to reach

    statistical significance (P = 0.136). None of these changes

    were significantly different from each other. Again, the

    control group showed no change (9.5 1.2 to 9.3

    1.1 W kg-1; P = 0.510).

    Reproducibility of power outputs during training

    sessions

    There was a significant difference in the ability of the

    training groups to maintain peak power output during the

    training sessions (P\0.001; Fig.5). The 10 s:4 min

    group maintained 96% of their peak power output and the

    10 s:2 min group 95% which were both significantly

    greater (P\ 0.001) than the 89% observed for the

    30 s:4 min group.

    5 km Time Trial Performance (sec)

    0

    450

    500

    550

    600

    650

    700

    750

    800

    850

    900

    ***

    *

    0 2 weeks0 2 weeks0 2 weeks0 2 weeks

    30:4 10:4 10:2 CONTROL

    Fig. 1 5-km cycling time trial performance (s) before and after

    2 weeks of training. Thin lines are individual data and the thick lines

    are means. All training groups improved significantly while the

    control group did not change. **P\ 0.001, *P\0.03

    0

    25

    30

    35

    40

    45

    50

    55

    60

    65

    70

    VO2max (mlkg-1

    min-1

    )

    ****

    0 2 weeks0 2 weeks0 2 weeks0 2 weeks

    30:4 10:4 10:2 CONTROL

    Fig. 2 VO2max(ml kg-1 min-1) before and after 2 weeks of training.

    Thin lines represent individual data and the thick lines are means.

    Both the 30:4 and 10:4 training groups improved significantly while

    the 10:2 approached significance. The control group did not change.

    **P\ 0.001, P = 0.06

    Relative Peak Power Output (Wkg-1)

    0

    10

    12

    14

    16

    18

    20

    ** ** *

    0 2 weeks0 2 weeks0 2 weeks0 2 weeks

    30:4 10:4 10:2 CONTROL

    Fig. 3 Wingate relative peak power output (W kg-1) before and after

    2 weeks of training. Thin lines are individual data and the thick lines

    are means. All training groups improved significantly while thecontrol group did not change. **P\ 0.001, *P\0.03

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    Similarly, there was a significant difference in the ability

    of the training groups to maintain average power output

    during training sessions (P\ 0.001; Fig.5). The

    10 s:4 min group and 10 s:2 min group maintained 84 and

    82% of their peak power output, respectively, which were

    both significantly greater (P\ 0.001) than the 58%

    observed for the 30 s:4 min group.

    As with both peak and average power output, there was

    a significant difference in the minimum power output

    observed during the training sessions (P\0.001; Fig. 5).

    Minimum power output for the 10 s:4 min group and

    10 s:2 min group was 73 and 69% of their peak power

    output, respectively. Both were significantly greater

    (P\ 0.001) than the 40% for the 30 s:4 min group.

    Total work performed also differed among training

    groups (P = 0.005). As expected, the 30 s:4 min group

    (83124 kJ) performed significantly more total work

    (P\ 0.009) during the 46 bouts per training session thaneither the 10 s:4 min group (3858 kJ) or the 10 s:2 min

    group (3959 kJ). There was no difference in total work

    performed between the 10 s:4 min and the 10 s:2 min

    groups (P = 0.999).

    Body composition

    Baseline values for body composition (body mass, lean

    mass, fat mass, body fat percentage) were similar among

    groups (P[ 0.430). Training did not cause changes in

    body composition (P[0.490) and, as expected, there were

    no body composition changes in the control group(P C 0.626).

    Discussion

    Recent studies utilizing SIT (repeated maximal 30-s efforts

    with 4 min recovery) have reported significant increases in

    both anaerobic and aerobic power (Gibala and McGee

    2008). Increases in glycolytic (MacDougall et al.1998) and

    oxidative enzymes activity (Burgomaster et al.2005,2006,

    2007; MacDougall et al. 1998), muscle buffering capacity

    (Burgomaster et al.2007; Gibala et al.2006), and/or ionic

    regulation (Harmer et al. 2000) have been implicated in

    these responses. Moreover, it has been demonstrated

    that SIT up-regulates peroxisome proliferator-activated

    receptor-co-activator-1a (PGC-1a), a potent regulator of

    mitochondrial biogenesis (Burgomaster et al. 2008; Gibala

    et al. 2009), which could be the underlying mechanism

    responsible for the observed aerobic adaptation. This

    information is exciting because it means that such adap-

    tations can be obtained with a substantial reduction

    in exercise training time. Consequently, many types of

    athletes and perhaps even non-athletes interested in being

    physically active for health reasons can benefit from this

    novel type of training. However, not much is known

    regarding which particular aspect of SIT provides this

    powerful stimulus. The purpose of the current study was to

    determine whether the observed improvements in anaero-

    bic and aerobic performance are due to the generation of

    peak power output, the total work completed over 30 s,

    and/or the brief recovery interval. If the peak power output

    generation is most important we would expect that the

    two-10 s treatments would produce similar or greater

    Relative Average Power Output (Wkg -1)

    0

    5

    6

    7

    8

    9

    10

    11

    12

    ** *

    0 2 weeks0 2 weeks0 2 weeks0 2 weeks

    30:4 10:4 10:2 CONTROL

    Fig. 4 Wingate relative average power output (W kg-1) before and

    after 2 weeks of training. Thin lines are individual data and the thick

    lines are means. Both the 30:4 and 10:4 training groups improved

    significantly while the 10:2 and the control group did not change.

    **P\ 0.001, *P\0.03

    40

    60

    80

    100

    40

    60

    80

    100

    Training Session

    Peak Power

    Output (%)

    Training Session

    Average Power

    Output (%)

    Training Session

    Minumum Power

    Output (%)

    **

    **

    **

    30:4 10:4 10:2 30:4 10:4 10 :2 30: 4 1 0: 4 10 :2

    Fig. 5 Reproducibility of peak, average, and minimum power during

    the training sessions. The 30 s:4 min maintained significantly less

    peak, average, and minimum power than the 10 s:4 min and

    10 s:2 min training groups. Data are mean SD. **P\ 0.001

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    improvements versus the 30 s protocol because, of course,

    the peak power occurs during the first 5 or 10 s of SIT. On

    the other hand, if the average power output (or total work

    completed) over the 30 s is critical then the 30-s treatment

    should be best. Finally, if the intersession recovery interval

    is a key factor then the 210 s treatments (with 2 vs. 4 min

    recovery interval) should produce different results.

    Our results demonstrate that both modified SIT proto-cols (10 s:4 min and 10 s:2 min) produced similar and

    significant VO2max and 5-km time trial performance

    improvements when compared with the established

    30 s:4 min SIT protocol. This suggests that the generation

    of peak power output during the first few seconds of each

    training bout is more likely responsible for the SIT adap-

    tations than the total work completed.

    As expected, the training session peak power genera-

    tion (% of peak power over each training repeat) was

    more reproducible (P\ 0.05) with both 10-s groups

    versus the 30-s group (96 and 95 vs. 89%). Further, both

    average power (84, 82 vs. 58%) and minimum power(73, 69 vs. 40%) over each training repeat were greater

    (P\ 0.05) with the 10-s groups versus the 30 s. As a

    result, the 10-s groups did *50% of the work completed

    in the 30-s group in only 33% of the training time. In

    other words, the 10-s groups exercised for less time, but

    at greater exercise intensity. Finally, although we did not

    quantify the effort involved, subjectively the participants

    appeared to find the 10 s efforts less difficult and their

    comments during training were consistent with this

    possibility. Taken together, these data suggest that,

    although the 30 s:4 min SIT is very time efficient versus

    more traditional endurance training, significant perfor-

    mance gains are possible with an even smaller time

    commitment. This may be very useful for athletes who

    need to boost their performance over the course of their

    competitive season when fitness might suffer due to

    increased emphasis on skill development.

    The observed improvements in time trial performance

    (35%), VO2max (49%), peak power output (910%), and

    average power output (712%) are consistent with other

    SIT studies utilizing the established 30 s:4 min protocol

    (Barnett et al. 2004; Burgomaster et al.2006,2007,2008;

    Gibala et al. 2006; MacDougall et al. 1998; Stathis et al.

    1994). Of course, these increases in both aerobic and

    anaerobic power are likely responsible for the observed

    improvements in time trial performance.

    Some may be surprised by the aerobic adaptations

    observed with such short exercise bouts, but when one

    examines the response of the muscles involved with SIT

    more closely our results are much more reasonable, even

    expected. Specifically, the well-known precipitous decline

    in peak power output during SIT type exercise is due to the

    fall in muscle PCr stores primarily (Bogdanis et al. 1995,

    1996). Further, the decrease in PCr availability combined

    with the continued attempt to generate maximal power

    should stimulate both glycolysis and oxidative phosphor-

    ylation with the later becoming even more pronounced

    during successive bouts (McCartney et al. 1986; Spriet

    et al. 1989). Likely this coupling of PCr hydrolysis and

    oxidative metabolism explains at least partially why both

    the 10 and 30-s training efforts present a significant acutechallenge to the mitochondria resulting in adaptation. In

    addition, about 50 years ago, Astrand et al. (1960a, b)

    suggested that oxygen availability from myoglobin should

    be reduced with continuous versus intermittent exercise at

    the same relative intensity because with the latter it would

    be reloaded during recovery. If so, the relative proportion

    of energy regenerated from glycolysis and oxidative

    phosphorylation would be altered with longer exercise

    bouts even if the intensity was identical, i.e., more gly-

    colysis with continuous exercise. This reloading of myo-

    globin with oxygen phenomenon could also contribute to

    the aerobic improvement observed with all three types ofSIT studied because 24 min of recovery should be plenty

    of time to reload. Moreover, the unloading of myoglobin in

    the 30-s SIT group would be expected to contribute to a

    greater glycolytic involvement versus the 10-s groups.

    Interestingly, although training increased Wingate peak

    power output in all three SIT groups, average Wingate

    power output tended to be greater with the 30 s:4 min

    versus the 10 s:4 min group (11.4 vs. 7.6%) and was not

    significantly increased with training in the 10 s:2 min

    group (2.9%). This result is consistent with a greater reli-

    ance on glycolysis during training in the 30-s group and

    could explain at least partially why the more intense 10-s

    repeats seemed less difficult.

    With respect to recovery duration, our similar across

    group performance gains over 2 weeks of training and

    greater peak power reproducibility with training repeats in

    the 10-s groups indicate that two min of recovery is

    sufficient for the next all-out effort. From a practical

    perspective, this suggests that total training time can be

    reduced versus even 30 s:4 min SIT without compromising

    training adaptations. In this study, we did not test 30-s

    efforts with 2 min recovery and this should be assessed to

    be certain that intensity can be maintained in subsequent

    bouts. However, 50% reduction in recovery time might

    also be appropriate with 30-s SIT because despite the larger

    oxygen debt incurred versus 10-s efforts we have observed

    that VO2 recovers consistently by *80% as quickly as

    120 s following a typical SIT session (4 repeat 30-s efforts;

    unpublished observations). Perhaps, the incomplete

    recoveries which characterize SIT contribute to the aerobic

    adaptation of the muscle because it is forced to regenerate

    energy at a very high rate with a decreasing anaerobic

    contribution (Barnett et al. 2004).

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    The results of the current study agree with earlier work

    demonstrating the effectiveness of 30 s:4 min SIT relative

    to aerobic and anaerobic adaptations. However, of sub-

    stantial interest is our observation that many of the same

    performance gains occurred in our two modified SIT pro-

    tocols, 10-s efforts with either 2 or 4 min recovery in which

    actual time exercising was reduced by 67% and, for the

    10 s:2 min group, recovery time was reduced by another50%. This means that for the 10 s:2 min group training

    total time would be as little as \711 versus 14

    23 min day-1 for 30 s:4 min or 3060 min day-1 for

    traditional continuous endurance training. As a result SIT

    should be easily incorporated into the training program of

    any athlete desiring to increase both aerobic and anaerobic

    power quickly. However, it is still unclear how these

    modified 10-s SIT protocols would compare to traditional

    ET over longer training programs. Moreover, at least over

    2 weeks SIT had no effect on body composition in these

    recreationally active young individuals so longer training

    durations are needed to determine the effectiveness of theseSIT protocols on body composition.

    Recently, interval training for non-athletes, even those

    with compromised cardiovascular function has been utilized

    with considerable success (Rognmo et al.2004; Warburton

    et al. 2005; Wisloff et al. 2007), but it is important to

    appreciate that SIT is considerably more intense. Conse-

    quently, before SIT is adopted widely by non-athletes more

    study is necessary to determine whether there are health

    concerns with this type of training in other populations.

    Conclusion

    The present study demonstrates that SIT protocols using

    46 repetitions of 10-s duration with 2 or 4 min of

    recovery, three times per week over as brief a time period

    as 2 weeks can increase VO2max, peak Wingate power

    output, and 5-km cycle time trial performance. While the

    underlying mechanism responsible for these rapid adapta-

    tions must await further study the fact that bouts of 10-s

    were as effective as 30-s suggests that the main stimulus of

    SIT is the generation of peak power output.

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