Relationship between maximal incremental and high-intensity interval exercise performance in elite athletes

Abstract

This descriptive study aimed to explore the physiological factors that determine tolerance to exertion during high-intensity interval effort. Forty-seven young women (15-28 years old) were enrolled: 23 athletes from Taiwan national or national reserve teams and 24 moderately active females. Each participant underwent a maximal incremental INC (modified Bruce protocol) cardiopulmonary exercise test on the first day and high-intensity interval testing (HIIT) on the second day, both performed on a treadmill. The HIIT protocol involved alternation between 1-min effort at 120% of the maximal speed, at the same slope reached at the end of the INC, and 1-min rest until volitional exhaustion. Gas exchange, heart rate (HR), and muscle oxygenation at the right vastus lateralis, measured by near-infrared spectroscopy, were continuously recorded. The number of repetitions completed (R lim) by each participant was considered the HIIT tolerance index. The results showed a large difference in the R lim (range, 2.6-12.0 repetitions) among the participants. Stepwise linear regression revealed that the variance in the R lim within the cohort was related to the recovery rates of oxygen consumption (_ VO 2), HR at the second minute after INC, and muscle tissue saturation index at exhaustion (R = 0.644). In addition, age was linearly correlated with R lim (adjusted R = −0.518, p < 0.0001). In conclusion, the recovery rates for _ VO 2 and HR after the incremental test, and muscle saturation index at exhaustion, were the major physiological factors related to HIIT performance. These findings provide insights into the role of the recovery phase after maximal INC exercise testing. Future research investigating a combination of INC and HIIT testing to determine training-induced performance improvement is warranted.

High-intensity resistance exercise is not as effective as traditional high-intensity interval exercise for increasing the cardiorespiratory response and energy expenditure in recreationally active subjects

“…To our knowledge, this phenomenon has not been reported in studies with a similar protocol (i.e., HIIE including a fixed number of repetitions). However, other studies using HIIE performed until exhaustion have reported higher VO 2 values during HIIE than during a maximal incremental test (Billat et al 2000 ; Chang et al 2020 ).…”

Oxyhemoglobin Concentration and Oxygen Uptake Signal During Recovery From Exhaustive Exercise in Healthy Subjects—Relationship With Aerobic Capacity

“…During the fast decrease of oxygen uptake the hemoglobin affinity to oxygen progressively declines due to the decreasing number of free hemoglobin binding sites. This saturation causes a plateauing of Sm (%) in recovery (compare Figure 2B and Chang et al, 2020).…”

Low-Frequency Vibration Facilitates Post-Exercise Cardiovascular Autonomic Recovery

“…Acceleration of autonomic cardiovascular system recovery after exercise has advantages. First, faster HR recovery brings a larger heart rate reserve for the next bout, which helps maintain performance on the court (Chang et al, 2020). Second, ventricular arrhythmia tends to occur at a high sympathetic tone and during the recovery phase more than during exercise (Gooch and McConnell, 1970).…”

“…When recovery time is insufficient, the performance may decline as the game progresses. Therefore, fast post-exercise recovery is helpful for the players to maintain high performance on the court (Chang et al, 2020). Acceleration of autonomic cardiovascular system recovery after exercise also has other ad-vantages.…”