Four weeks of running sprint interval training improves cardiorespiratory fitness in young and middle-aged adults

摘要

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a 4-week running sprint interval training protocol to improve both aerobic and anaerobic fitness in middle-aged adults (40-50 years) as well as compare the adaptations to younger adults (20-30 years). Twenty-eight inactive participants - 14 young 20-30-year-olds (n=7 males) and 14 middle-aged 40-50-year-olds (n=5 males) - completed 4 weeks of running sprint interval training (4 to 6, 30-s "all-out" sprints on a curved, self-propelled treadmill separated by 4min active recovery performed 3 times per week). Before and after training, all participants were assessed for maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), 2000m time trial performance, and anaerobic performance on a single 30-s sprint. There were no interactions between group and time for any tested variable, although training improved relative VO2max (young=3.9, middle-aged=5.2%; P<0.04), time trial performance (young=5.9, middle-aged=8.2%; P<0.001), peak sprint speed (young=9.3, middle-aged=2.2%; P<0.001), and average sprint speed (young=6.8, middle-aged=11.6%; P<0.001) in both young and middle-aged groups from pre- to post-training on the 30-s sprint test. The current study demonstrates that a 4-week running sprint interval training programme is equally effective at improving aerobic and anaerobic fitness in younger and middle-aged adults.