Exercise

Could Sprint Interval Training Improve Exercise Adherence?

Time is one of the main reasons adults list explaining infrequent or no physical activity. New exercise programs designed to maximize results in minimal amounts of time are becoming more popular as alternatives to long moderate-intensity training sessions, and research is showing that these new programs could provide similar or better health benefits.

SIT Training

According to a recent study, fewer sprint repetitions on an exercise bike improved cardiovascular fitness, and may be more effective than more high-intensity repetitions.1

Researchers analyzed 38 sprint interval training (SIT) trials that examined pre-training and post-training cardiorespiratory fitness (V̇O2MAX) in adults who completed 2 or more weeks of training consisting of repeated Wingate-type cycle sprints cycling sprints. Specifically, the research dealt with a specific type of high-intensity cycle sprint called “supramaximal.” Researchers used probabilistic magnitude-based inferences to interpret the outcomes of their analysis.

The researchers found that after performing 2 supramaximal sprints, each additional sprint in a training session reduced the overall improvement in fitness by around 5% on average.

“We conclude that the improvement in [V̇O2MAX] with SIT is not attenuated with fewer sprint repetitions, and possibly even enhanced. This means that SIT protocols can be made more time-efficient, which may help SIT to be developed into a viable strategy to impact public health,” the researchers concluded.

Exercise Adherence

While SIT and other forms of high-intensity interval (HIT) training reduce the number of repetitions and time needed to experience health benefits in people who lack the time to devote to, pleasure factors may diminish the appeal of this time saving training.

Recommending SIT training for sedentary individuals should be based on actively level and sustainability. Current studies have shown that enjoyment is a major factor in exercise adherence, and the ability of a patient to continue to benefit and improve their health through exercise is contingent on their ability to maintain a regular regimen.

Emily Decker of the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at the University of Colorado, and Panteleimon Ekkekakis of the Department of Kinesiology at Iowa State University recently published a study in the January issue of Psychology of Sport and Exercise that examined the enjoyment of high-intensity and moderate-intensity exercises in low-active women with obesity.2 In their study, the women performed both high-intensity exercise and a moderate-intensity continuous exercise on a recumbent bike, in counterbalanced order. Their findings showed that sedentary women with obesity reported less enjoyment when completing the high-intensity exercise than the moderate-intensity exercise, indicating issues with sustainability in low-active women.

In contrast to Dr Decker and Dr Ekkekakis’ findings, researchers at the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University found that enjoyment of high-intensity training increased overtime.3 The article “Enjoyment of High-Intensity Interval Exercise Increases During the First Six Weeks of Training: Implications for Promoting Exercise Adherence in Sedentary Adults,” published in the December issue of PLOS, examined the impact of chronic training on enjoyment for HIT exercises. Researchers randomly assigned sedentary young adults to 6 weeks of HIT or moderate-intensity exercises on a cycle ergometer. Their findings demonstrated that enjoyment for HIT increased over the 6-week trial, whereas enjoyment for moderate-intensity exercises remained constant or decreased over 6 weeks.

SIT and HIT training are beneficial alternatives to time-consuming exercises, but may be as difficult to maintain as lengthy exercise regimes due to lack of enjoyment at the start of training. In addition, individual exercise preferences of patients should be taken into consideration in future studies, as well as in clinical settings.

Additional Reading:
Study: Even 1 Minute of Intense Exercise Has Benefits
Weekend Warriors: Could 1 or 2 Weekly Sessions of Exercise Decrease Morality Risk?
Study Examines Mechanism Behind Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Exercise
Study Compares Specific Types of Exercise for Lowering Mortality
Check Exercise Habits as Often as Blood Pressure
Fitness fundamentals still challenge Americans, poll finds
Streaming fitness videos leave no excuses for procrastinators

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

  1. Vollaard NB, Metcalfe RS, and Williams S. Effect of number of sprints in SIT session in VO2max: a meta-analysis [published online January 10, 2017]. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001204.
  2. Decker E and Ekkekakis P. More efficient, perhaps, but at what price? Pleasure and enjoyment responses to high-intensity interval exercise in low-active women with obesity. Psychology of Sport and Exercise 28: 1-10.
  3. Heisz JJ, Tejada MG, Paolucci EM, and Muir C. Enjoyment for high-intensity interval exercise increases during the first six weeks of training: implications for promoting exercise adherence in sedentary adults [published online December 14, 2016]. PLoS One. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0168534.