The purpose of the presented study was to compare acute and post-exercise differences in cardiorespiratory, metabolic, cardiac autonomic, inflammatory and muscle damage responses to high-intensity interval exercise (HIIT) between endurance and sprint athletes. The study group consisted of sixteen highly-trained males (age 22.1 ± 2.5 years) participating in endurance (n = 8) or sprint (n = 8) sporting events. All the participants underwent three exercise sessions: short HIIT (work interval duration 30s), long HIIT (3min) and constant load exercise (CE). The exercise interventions were matched for mean power, total time and in case of HIIT interventions also for work-to-relief ratio. The acute cardiorespiratory (HR, V̇O2, RER) and metabolic (lactate) variables as well as the post-exercise changes (up to 3 h) in the heart rate variability, inflammation (interleukin-6, leucocytes) and muscle damage (creatine kinase, myoglobin) were monitored. Endurance athletes performed exercise interventions with moderately (CE) or largely (both HIIT modes) higher mean V̇O2. These differences were trivial/small when V̇O2 was expressed as a percentage of V̇O2max. Moderately to largely lower RER and lactate values were found in endurance athletes. Markers of cardiac autonomic regulation, inflammation and muscle damage did not reveal any considerable differences between endurance and sprint athletes. In conclusions, endurance athletes were able to perform both HIIT formats with increased reliance on aerobic metabolic pathways although exercise intensity was identical in relative terms for all the participants. However, other markers of the acute and early post-exercise physiological response to these HIIT interventions indicated similarities between endurance and sprint athletes.

Human Motion Diagnostic Centre and Department of Human Movement Studies Ostrava University Czech Republic

Institute of Sports Science Exercise Physiology Training and Training Therapy Research Group University of Graz Austria

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Åstrand I., Åstrand P.-O., Christensen E.H., Hedman R. (1960) Intermittent Muscular Work. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica 48(3–4), 448-453. PubMed

Batterham A.M., Hopkins W.G. (2006) Making Meaningful Inferences About Magnitudes. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 1(1), 50-57. PubMed

Berger N.J.A., Jones A.M. (2007) Pulmonary O2 Uptake On-Kinetics in Sprint- and Endurance-Trained Athletes. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 32(3), 383-393. PubMed

Bosco C., Luhtanen P., Komi P.V. (1983) A Simple Method for Measurement of Mechanical Power in Jumping. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology 50(2), 273-282. PubMed

Buchheit M. (2014) Monitoring Training Status with HR Measures: Do All Roads Lead to Rome? Frontiers in Physiology 5, 73. PubMed PMC

Buchheit M., Laursen P.B. (2013) High-Itensity Interval Training, Solutions to the Programming Puzzle: Part II: Anaerobic Energy, Neuromuscular Load and Practical Applications. Sports Medicine 43(10), 927-954. PubMed

Buchheit M., Laursen P.B., Ahmaidi S. (2007) Parasympathetic Reactivation after Repeated Sprint Exercise. AJP: Heart and Circulatory Physiology 293(1), H133-H141. PubMed

Cipryan L. (2016a) The Effect of Fitness Level on Cardiac Autonomic Regulation, IL-6, Total Antioxidant Capacity, and Muscle Damage Responses to a Single Bout of High-Intensity Interval Training. Journal of Sport and Health Science, (in press).. PubMed PMC

Cipryan L. (2016b) Within-Session Stability of Short-Term Heart Rate Variability Measurement. Journal of Human Kinetics 50(1), 85-92. PubMed PMC

Cipryan L., Laursen P.B., Plews D.J. (2016) Cardiac Autonomic Response Following High-Intensity Running Work-to-Rest Interval Manipulation. European Journal of Sport Science 16(7), 808-817. PubMed

Cullen T., Thomas A.W., Webb R., Hughes M.G. (2016) Interleukin-6 and Associated Cytokine Responses to an Acute Bout of High-Intensity Interval Exercise: The Effect of Exercise Intensity and Volume. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism 41(8), 803-808. PubMed

Dubouchaud H., Butterfield G.E., Wolfel E.E., Bergman B.C., Brooks G. (2000) Endurance Training, Expression, and Physiology of LDH, MCT1, and MCT4 in Human Skeletal Muscle. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism 278(4), 571-579. PubMed

Fischer C.P. (2006) Interleukin-6 in Acute Exercise and Training: What Is the Biological Relevance? Exercise Immunology Review 12(115), 6-33. PubMed

Haff G.G., Dumke C. (2012) Laboratory Manual for Exercise Physiology. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

Hawley J.A. (2002) Adaptations of Skeletal Muscle to Prolonged, Intense Endurance Training. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology 29(3), 218-222. PubMed

Helgerud J., Hoydal K., Wang E., Karlsen T., Berg P., Bjerkaas M., Simonsen T., Helgesen C., Hjorth N., Bach R., Hoff J. (2007) Aerobic High-Intensity Intervals Improve VO2max More than Moderate Training. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 39(4), 665-671. PubMed

Hetlelid K.J., Plews D.J., Herold E., Laursen P.B., Seiler S. (2015) Rethinking the Role of Fat Oxidation: Substrate Utilisation during High-Intensity Interval Training in Well-Trained and Recreationally Trained Runners. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 1(1), e000047. PubMed PMC

Hofmann P., Tschakert G. (2011) Special Needs to Prescribe Exercise Intensity for Scientific Studies. Cardiology Research and Practice 2011, 1-10. PubMed PMC

Hopkins W.G. (2006) Spreadsheets for Analysis of Controlled Trials, with Adjustment for a Subject Characteristic. Sportscience 10, 46-50.

Hopkins W.G., Batterham A.M. (2016) Error Rates, Decisive Outcomes and Publication Bias with Several Inferential Methods. Sports Medicine 46(10), 1563-1573. PubMed

Hopkins W.G., Marshall S.W., Batterham A.M., Hanin J. (2009) Progressive Statistics for Studies in Sports Medicine and Exercise Science. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 41(1), 3-13. PubMed

Chen T., Nosaka K., Sacco P. (2007) Intensity of Eccentric Exercise, Shift of Optimum Angle, and the Magnitude of Repeated-Bout Effect. Journal of Applied Physiology 102, 992-999. PubMed

Kenney W.L., Wilmore J.H., Costill D., (2015) Physiology of Sport and Exercise. 6th edition Champaign: Human Kinetics.

Kohn T.A., Essén-Gustavsson B., Myburgh K.H. (2011) Specific Muscle Adaptations in Type II Fibers after High-Intensity Interval Training of Well-Trained Runners. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 21(6), 765-772. PubMed

Malik M., Bigger J., Camm A., Kleiger R. (1996) Heart Rate Variability. Standards of Measurement, Physiological Interpretation, and Clinical Use. Task Force of the European Society Of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. European Heart Journal, 17, 354-381. PubMed

Milanović Z., Sporiš G., Weston M. (2015) Effectiveness of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIT) and Continuous Endurance Training for VO2max Improvements: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials. Sports Medicine 45(10), 1469-1481. PubMed

Nieman D.C., Zwetsloot K.A., Meaney M.P., Lomiwes D.D., Hurst S.M., Hurst R.D. (2015) Post-Exercise Skeletal Muscle Glycogen Related to Plasma Cytokines and Muscle IL-6 Protein Content, but not Muscle Cytokine mRNA Expression. Frontiers in Nutrition 2, 27. PubMed PMC

Nuzzo R. (2014) Statistical Errors. Nature 506, 150-152. PubMed

Parolin M.L., Chesley A, Matsos M.P., Spriet L.L., Jones N.L., Heigenhauser G.J. (1999) Regulation of Skeletal Muscle Glycogen Phosphorylase and PDH During Maximal Intermittent Exercise. The American Journal of Physiology 277(5 Pt 1), E890-E900. PubMed

Paulsen G., Mikkelsen U.R., Raastad T., Peake J.M. (2012) Leucocytes, Cytokines and Satellite Cells: What Role Do They Play in Muscle Damage and Regeneration Following Eccentric Exercise? Exercise Immunology Review 18, 42-97. PubMed

Pedersen B.K., Febbraio M.A. (2012) Muscles, Exercise and Obesity: Skeletal Muscle as a Secretory Organ. Nature Reviews Endocrinology 8(8), 457-465. PubMed

Penttila J., Helminen A., Jartti T., Kuusela T. (2001) Time Domain, Geometrical and Frequency Domain Analysis of Cardiac Vagal Outflow: Effects of Various Respiratory Patterns. Clinical Physiology 1, 365-376. PubMed

Plews D.J., Laursen P.B., Stanley J., Kilding A.E., Buchheit M. (2013) Training Adaptation and Heart Rate Variability in Elite Endurance Athletes: Opening the Door to Effective Monitoring. Sports Medicine 43(9), 773-781. PubMed

Saltin B., Essén B. (1971) Muscle Glycogen, Lactate, ATP, And CP in Intermittent Exercise Pernow B., Saltin B. (eds) Muscle Metabolism During Exercise. Springer; US: 419-424.

Seiler S., Haugen O., Kuffel E. (2007) Autonomic Recovery after Exercise in Trained Athletes. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 39(8), 1366-1373. PubMed

Spencer M., Bishop D., Dawson B., Goodman C. (2005) Physiological and Metabolic Responses of Repeated-Sprint Activities. Sports Medicine 35(12), 1025-1044. PubMed

Stanley J., Peake J.M., Buchheit M. (2013) Cardiac Parasympathetic Reactivation Following Exercise: Implications for Training Prescription. Sports Medicine 43(12), 1259-1277. PubMed

Suzuki K., Nakaji S., Yamada M., Liu Q., Kurakake S., Okamura N., Kumae T., Umeda T., Sugawara K. (2003) Impact of a Competitive Marathon Race on Systemic Cytokine and Neutrophil Responses. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 35(2), 348-355. PubMed

Thomas C., Sirvent P., Perrey S., Raynaud E., Mercier J. (2004) Relationships between Maximal Muscle Oxidative Capacity and Blood Lactate Removal after Supramaximal Exercise and Fatigue Indexes in Humans. Journal of Applied Physiology 97(6), 2132-2138. PubMed

Tschakert G., Hofmann P. (2013) High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise: Methodological and Physiological Aspects. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 8(6), 600-610. PubMed

Tschakert G., Kroepfl J., Hofmann P., Mueller A., Moser O., Groeschl W. (2015) How to Regulate the Acute Physiological Response to “Aerobic” High-Intensity Interval Exercise. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 14, 29-36. PubMed PMC

Ufland P., Ahmaidi S., Buchheit M. (2013) Repeated-Sprint Performance, Locomotor Profile and Muscle Oxygen Uptake Recovery: Effect of Training Background. International Journal of Sports Medicine 34(10), 924-930. PubMed

Venables M.C., Achten J., Jeukendrup A.E. (2005) Determinants of Fat Oxidation during Exercise in Healthy Men and Women: a Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Applied Physiology 98(1), 160-167. PubMed

Wallner D., Simi H., Tschakert G., Hofmann P. (2014) Acute Physiological Response to Aerobic Short-Interval Training in Trained Runners. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance 9(4), 661-666. PubMed

Wasserstein R.L., Lazar N.A. (2016) The ASA’s Statement on p -Values: Context, Process, and Purpose. The American Statistician 70(2), 129-133.

Zierath J.R., Wallberg-Henriksson H. (2015) Looking Ahead Perspective: Where Will the Future of Exercise Biology Take Us? Cell Metabolism 22(1), 25-30. PubMed

Effect of four different forms of high intensity training on BDNF response to Wingate and Graded Exercise Test

Effects of a 4-Week Very Low-Carbohydrate Diet on High-Intensity Interval Training Responses