Hormonal and Inflammatory Responses to Different Types of Sprint Interval Training

Abstract

We evaluated the effect of different types of sprint interval sessions on the balance between anabolic and catabolic hormones and circulating inflammatory cytokines. Twelve healthy elite junior handball players (17-25 years) participated in the study. Exercise consisted of increasing distance (100 m, 200 m, 300 m, 400 m) and decreasing distance (400 m, 300 m, 200 m, 100 m) sprint interval runs on a treadmill (at random order), at a constant work rate of 80% of the personal maximal speed (calculated from the maximal speed of a 100 m run). The total rest period between the runs in the different interval sessions were similar. Blood samples were collected before, after each run, and after 1-hour recovery. Both types of sprint interval trainings led to a significant (p < 0.05) increase in lactate and the anabolic factors growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), and testosterone levels. Both types of sprint interval sessions led to a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the circulating pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators IL-1, IL-6, and IL1ra. IL-6 remained elevated in both sessions after 1-hour recovery. Area under the curve was significantly greater (p < 0.05) for lactate and growth hormone (GH) in the decreasing distance session. In contrast, rate of perceived exertion was higher in the increasing distance session, but this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.07). Changes in anabolic-catabolic hormones and inflammatory mediators can be used to gauge the training intensity of anaerobic-type exercise. Changes in the GH-IGF-I axis and testosterone level suggest exercise-related anabolic adaptations. Increases in inflammatory mediators may indicate their important role in muscle tissue repair after anaerobic exercise. The decreasing distance interval was associated with a greater metabolic (lactate) and anabolic (GH) response but not with a higher rate of perceived exertion. Coaches and athletes should be aware of these differences, and as a result, of a need for specific recovery adaptations after different interval training protocols.

Effects of 24-hour Food Restriction on Plasma Human Growth Hormone, IGF-1, Cortisol and Testosterone Responses in Resistance Exercise

“…Consistently, previous reports showed that high-intensity exercise was associated with increase of proinflammatory cytokines, for example, IL-6 and TNF- [40][41][42], which have been proposed as mediators of pathologies in humans and have been shown to be associated with an unfavourable metabolic profile with implications for inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk [12]. Furthermore, exercise induces a general stress response involving the activation of the immune systems and may induce immunosuppression in the recovery period and continues to increase after exercise [12,41].…”

Differences in metabolic and inflammatory responses in lower and upper body high-intensity intermittent exercise

“…All procedures received local ethics committee approval. Before conducting the study we checked the sample size needed (n = 6) to guarantee 80 % power and 5 % significance level, using studies that measured the IL-6 pre-and immediately post-exercise as referenced by similar protocol (lower body high-intensity intermittent exercise) (Meckel et al 2009(Meckel et al , 2011Leggate et al 2010;Arent et al 2010). …”

“…On the other hand, anti-inflammatory cytokine, such as IL-1ra, IL-4, IL-10 and adipopectic exert protective action against an inflammatory sustained response Seelaender et al 2012). However, a small number of studies have explored the alterations on metabolic and inflammatory profiles (immunometabolism profile) by HIIE (Meckel et al 2009(Meckel et al , 2011Gökbel et al 2012).…”

“…Although it is known that exercise duration can explain 51 % of the increase of IL-6 during aerobic exercise (Fischer 2006), HIIE studies have shown that this kind of exercise can increase the IL-6 (~2.5-fold), even when short total exercise volume is performed (1000 m) (Meckel et al 2009(Meckel et al , 2011. Moreover, HIIE can induce a greater increase in IL-6 compared with continuous moderate-intensity exercise, when work performed was equalized between protocols (Leggate et al 2010).…”

“…HIIE studies analysed lower body performance (Meckel et al 2009(Meckel et al , 2011 probably because few people have a high upper body physical fitness level, making the utilization of a protocol of intense exercise for this region difficult. This fact makes it difficult to investigate and to compare the performance and immunometabolism responses in upper and lower body to high-intensity intermittent protocols.…”