The effects of high intensity interval training vs steady state training on aerobic and anaerobic capacity

High intensity interval training (hiit) has become an increas-ingly popular form of exercise due to its potentially large effects on exercise capacity and small time requirement. this study compared the effects of two hiit protocols vs steady-state training on aerobic and anaerobic capacity following 8-weeks of training. fifty-five untrained college-aged subjects were ran-domly assigned to three training groups (3x weekly). steady-state (n = 19) exercised (cycle ergometer) 20 minutes at 90% of ventilatory threshold (vt). tabata (n = 21) completed eight intervals of 20s at 170% vo2max/10s rest. meyer (n = 15) completed 13 sets of 30s (20 min) @ 100% pvo2 max/ 60s recovery,average po = 90% vt. each subject did 24 training sessions during 8 weeks. results: there were significant (p < 0.05) increases in vo2max (+19,+18 and +18%) and ppo (+17,+24 and +14%) for each training group,as well as significant increases in peak (+8,+ 9 and +5%) & mean (+4,+7 and +6%) power during wingate testing,but no significant differences between groups. measures of the enjoyment of the training program indicated that the tabata protocol was significantly less enjoyable (p < 0.05) than the steady state and meyer protocols,and that the enjoyment of all protocols declined (p < 0.05) across the duration of the study. the results suggest that alt-hough hiit protocols are time efficient,they are not superior to conventional exercise training in sedentary young adults. © journal of sports science and medicine.