EFFECT OF DIFFERENT INTERVAL SPEED TRAINING ON ATHLETE REACTION

ABSTRACT Introduction: High-intensity Intermittent Training (HIIT) ranked first in the ACSM “2013 Global Training Methodology Survey”. Objective: To explore the influence of different speed training intervals on athlete reaction speed. Methods: Sixteen male bicycle athletes were randomly divided into two groups. The two groups then completed a six-week training routine (NT). The two groups then completed a six-week training routine , started 6 weeks of Sprint Interval Training (SIT) (a total of 12 lessons), with SIT instead of Normal Training (NT) live endurance training, and another training remains unchanged. Results: After 6 weeks of NT, Pmax GXT in the CG and DG groups decreased by 0.7% and 1.7%, respectively,as compared to the pre-training numbers. The difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). And after 6 weeks of SIT, Pmax GXT increased significantly (P<0.05) in both experimental groupss,with increases of 9.2% and 10.2% for the CG and DG groups, respectively. Conclusions: The results show that intermittent training can effectively improve the aerobic metabolism of short-haul cyclists. As the power bicycle load and the training intensity and volume of the deceleration intermittent training program increase, the more significant the changes in aerobic capacity that can result in adaptability. Level of evidence II; Therapeutic studies - investigation of treatment results.

Is There Any Non-functional Training? A Conceptual Review

This conceptual review investigates whether functional training (FT) is a different approach from traditional strength, power, flexibility, and endurance (aerobic or cardiorespiratory) training already adopted in the physical training plan of professional, recreational athletes, healthy, and older adults. The 20 most recent papers published involving FT were searched in the PubMed/Medline database. Definition, concepts, benefits, and the exercises employed in FT programs were analyzed. The main results were: (a) there is no agreement about a universal definition for FT; (b) FT programs aim at developing the same benefits already induced by traditional training programs; (c) exercises employed are also the same. The inability to define FT makes the differentiation from traditional training programs difficult. Physical training programs can be easily described and classified as strength, power, flexibility, endurance, and the specific exercises employed (e.g., traditional resistance training, ballistic exercises, plyometrics and Olympic-style weightlifting, continuous and high-intensity interval training). This apt description and classification may provide consistent and clear communication between students, coaches, athletes, and sports scientists. Based on the current evidence and to avoid confusion and misconceptions, we recommend that the terms FT, high-intensity FT, and functional fitness training no longer describe any physical training program.

Effects of the Combination of High-intensity Interval Training and Ecdysterone on Learning and Memory Abilities, Antioxidant Enzymes Activities, and Neuronal Population in an Amyloid-beta-induced Rat Model of Alzheimer’s Disease

Aims: Oxidative stress and neuronal death are the primary reasons for the progression of amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Ecdysterone (Ecdy), a common derivative of ecdysteroids, possesses free radical scavenging and cognitive-improving effects. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) may be a therapeutic strategy for improving cognitive decline and oxidative stress. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of HIIT alone and its combination with Ecdysterone on the changes in learning and memory functions, hippocampal antioxidant enzymes activities, and neuronal population after AD induced by Aβ in male rats.Materials and methods: Following ten days of Aβ-injection, HIIT exercise and Ecdysterone treatment (10 mg/kg/day; P.O.) were initiated and continued for eight consecutive weeks in rats. At the end of the treatment period, rat’s learning and memory functions were assessed using water-maze and passive-avoidance tests. Moreover, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx), Glutathione Reductase (GRx) and neuronal population were evaluated in rat’s brains.Results: The results indicated that Aβ injection disrupted spatial/passive avoidance learning and memory in both water-maze and passive-avoidance paradigms, accompanied by a decrease in the superoxide dismutase and catalase (as endogenous antioxidants) in rat hippocampus. Additionally, Aβ injection resulted in neuronal loss in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Although consumption of Ecdysterone separately improved spatial/passive avoidance learning and memory impairments, recovered hippocampal activity of SOD, CAT, GRx, GRx and prevented the hippocampal neuronal loss, its combination with HIIT resulted in a more powerful and effective amelioration in all the above-mentioned Aβ-neuropathological changes.Conclusion: The current work's data confirms that a combination of HIIT exercise and Ecdysterone treatment could be a promising potential therapeutic agent against AD-associated cognitive decline, owing to their free radical scavenging and neuroprotective properties.

Can Popular High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Models Lead to Impossible Training Sessions?

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a time-efficient training method suggested to improve health and fitness for the clinical population, healthy subjects, and athletes. Many parameters can impact the difficulty of HIIT sessions. This study aims to highlight and explain, through logical deductions, some limitations of the Skiba and Coggan models, widely used to prescribe HIIT sessions in cycling. We simulated 6198 different HIIT training sessions leading to exhaustion, according to the Skiba and Coggan-Modified (modification of the Coggan model with the introduction of an exhaustion criterion) models, for three fictitious athlete profiles (Time-Trialist, All-Rounder, Sprinter). The simulation revealed impossible sessions (i.e., requiring athletes to surpass their maximal power output over the exercise interval duration), characterized by a few short exercise intervals, performed in the severe and extreme intensity domains, alternating with long recovery bouts. The fraction of impossible sessions depends on the athlete profile and ranges between 4.4 and 22.9% for the Skiba model and 0.6 and 3.2% for the Coggan-Modified model. For practitioners using these HIIT models, this study highlights the importance of understanding these models’ inherent limitations and mathematical assumptions to draw adequate conclusions from their use to prescribe HIIT sessions.