Tips for all the runners. #2016 #3
Answer to the #2 post - Evidence suggest that it is training intensity and not duration that is the most important factor in improving VO2max.
Interval Training
→ Repeated exercise bouts, with brief recovery periods in between.
→ Length and intensity of the work interval depends on what the athlete is trying to accomplish.
→ A longer work interval requires a major involvment of aerobic energy production.
→ A shorter with more intense work interval provides greater participation of anaerobic metabolism.
↔ Thus, in order to improve VO2 max, the interval training should generally utilize intervals longer than sixty seconds to maximize the involvement of aerobic ATP production.
↔ It is generally believed that high-intensity intervals are more effective in improving aerobic power than low-intensity intervals.
↔ Improvement maybe due to the recruitment of fast-twitch fibers (types lla and llx) during the high-intensity exercise.
References:
1. Fox, E. et al. 1975. Frequency and duration of interval training programs and changed in aerobic oower. Journal of Applied Physiology. 38: 481-484.
2. Fox, E. L., & Matthews, D. 1974. Interval Training: Conditioning for Sports and General Fitness. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
3. Knuttgen, H. et al. 1973. Physical conditiong through interval training with young male adults. Medicine and Science in Sports. 5:220-226.
