A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Endurance training volume cannot entirely substitute for the lack of intensity
Authors: Matomäki, Pekka; Heinonen, Olli J.; Nummela, Ari; Kyröläinen, Heikki
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication year: 2024
Journal: PLoS ONE
Journal name in source: PloS one
Journal acronym: PLoS One
Article number: e0307275
Volume: 19
Issue: 7
eISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307275(external)
Web address : https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0307275(external)
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/457305086(external)
Additional information: Data are available upon reasonable request by contacting Research Support Services of Open Science Center of University of Jyväskylä, Finland.
Purpose: Very low intensity endurance training (LIT) does not seem to improve maximal oxygen uptake. The purpose of the present study was to investigate if very high volume of LIT could compensate the lack of intensity and is LIT affecting differently low and high intensity performances.
Methods: Recreationally active untrained participants (n = 35; 21 females) cycled either LIT (mean training time 6.7 ± 0.7 h / week at 63% of maximal heart rate, n = 16) or high intensity training (HIT) (1.6 ± 0.2 h /week, n = 19) for 10 weeks. Two categories of variables were measured: Low (first lactate threshold, fat oxidation at low intensity exercise, post-exercise recovery) and high (aerobic capacity, second lactate threshold, sprinting power, maximal stroke volume) intensity performance.
Results: Only LIT enhanced pooled low intensity performance (LIT: p = 0.01, ES = 0.49, HIT: p = 0.20, ES = 0.20) and HIT pooled high intensity performance (LIT: p = 0.34, ES = 0.05, HIT: p = 0.007, ES = 0.48).
Conclusions: Overall, very low endurance training intensity cannot fully be compensated by high training volume in adaptations to high intensity performance, but it nevertheless improved low intensity performance. Therefore, the intensity threshold for improving low intensity performance is lower than that for improving high intensity performance. Consequently, evaluating the effectiveness of LIT on endurance performance cannot be solely determined by high intensity performance tests.
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