Comparison of Responses to Two High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise Protocols

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare peak cardiorespiratory, metabolic, and perceptual responses to acute bouts of sprint interval cycling (SIC) and a high-intensity intermittent calisthenics (HIC) protocol consisting of modified "burpees." Eleven (8 men and 3 women) moderately trained, college-aged participants (age = 21.9 ± 2.1, body mass index = 24.8 ± 1.9, V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak = 54.1 ± 5.4 ml·kg·min) completed 4 testing sessions across 9 days with each session separated by 48-72 hours. Using a protocol of 4 repeated bouts of 30-second "all-out" efforts interspersed with 4-minute active recovery periods, responses to SIC and HIC were classified relative to peak values. Mean values for %V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak and %HRpeak for SIC (80.4 ± 5.3% and 86.8 ± 3.9%) and HIC (77.6 ± 6.9% and 84.6 ± 5.3%) were not significantly different (p > 0.05). Effect sizes (95% confidence interval) calculated for mean differences were: %V[Combining Dot Above]O2peak Cohen's d = 0.51 (0.48-0.53) and %HRpeak Cohen's d = 0.57 (0.55-0.59). A low-volume, high-intensity bout of repeated whole-body calisthenic exercise induced cardiovascular responses that were not significantly different but were ∼1/2SD lower than "all-out" SIC. These results suggest that in addition to the benefit of reduced time commitment, a high-intensity interval protocol of calisthenics elicits vigorous cardiorespiratory and perceptual responses and may confer physiological adaptations and performance improvements similar to those reported for SIC. The potential efficacy of this alternative interval training method provides support for its application by athletes, coaches, and strength and conditioning professionals.

Sweat Rate Measurements After High Intensity Interval Training Using Body Weight

“…2 In this view, even though studies challenge its efficacy in some occasions, 7 the high-intensity training in treadmill 8 bicycle 9 and using the body´s weight 10,11 has been used with the objective to improve levels of physical fitness as well as health, due to its superiority in relation to moderate exercises. [12][13][14] Nonetheless, studies using the HIIT approach and its effects on sweating and hydration rates are still non conclusive in the literature.…”

Cardiorespiratory Responses to a 20-Minutes Shallow Water Tabata-Style Workout

“…As aquatic exercise continues to grow in popularity as an addition, or alternative, to land-based training, it is important for the aquatic instructor to realize that a TS-SWE workout can elicit a substantial metabolic load that is similar to land-based Tabata-style workouts. Furthermore, land-based, relatively brief HIIT results in time-efficient improvements in aerobic power and anaerobic capacity (Astorino, Allen, Roberson, & Jurancich, 2012;Gist et al, 2014;Laurent et al, 2014;Nicolò et al, 2014;Rozenek, Funato, Kubo, Hoshikawa, & Matsuo, 2007;Skelly et al, 2014;Tabata et al, 1997). Given the metabolic and cardiovascular load imposed by the TS-SWE in the current study, one may posit that HIIT performed in shallow water may result in comparable time-efficient metabolic adaptations as land-based HIIT.…”

“…During a 20-30 min land-based Tabata-style workout, investigators have found that participants can exercise vigorously or near-maximally to maximally reaching 80-96% of HR max and 74-88% of VO 2 peak (Emberts et al, 2013;Gist et al, 2014;Laurent, Vervaecke, Kutz, & Green, 2014;Skelly et al, 2014). As aquatic exercise continues to grow in popularity as an addition, or alternative, to land-based training, it is important for the aquatic instructor to realize that a TS-SWE workout can elicit a substantial metabolic load that is similar to land-based Tabata-style workouts.…”

“…Perhaps more indicative of the overall intensity of the workout was a peak blood lactate concentration of 9.2 ± 1.7 mM, 10-fold above resting and 12% greater than measured following a maximal SWE performed by the same individuals in a recent study (8.1 ± 1.7 mM, D'Acquisto et al 2015). Comparatively, peak blood lactate concentration recorded for land-based HIIT has been found to range from 7.0-13.1 mM (Emberts et al, 2013;Gist et al, 2014;Laurent et al, 2014;Nicolò et al, 2014;Rozenek et al, 2007;Zuniga et al, 2011), whereas Cook et al (2013) reported blood lactate values of 8.0 mM (RPE = 15, hard) in males following 10 × 9.1 m all-out running sprints in shallow water.…”

“…HIIT has a long history of being appreciated and used by athletes (e.g., in track, cycling, and swimming) in preparation for competition (Nicolò et al, 2014;Tabata et al, 1997;Zuniga et al, 2011) and has become an emerging trend in the general fitness community (Kilpatrick, Jung, & Little, 2014). Because of its high-intensity, low-volume nature, HIIT is being promoted as a time-efficient tactic for enhancing aerobic and anaerobic metabolic power (Emberts, Porcari, Doberstein, & Foster, 2013;Freese, Gist, & Cureton, 2013;Gist, Freese, & Cureton, 2014;Nicolò et al, 2014).…”