Time Dependent Effects of High Intensity Interval Training on Oxygen Uptake Kinetics in young males

The aim of this study was to determine time dependent effects of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on oxygen kinetics in young males. 40 active students were randomly assigned to four groups: one session of HIIT, two sessions of HIIT, four sessions of HIIT and control. Both HIIT and control groups performed the incremental test on an ergometer bicycle. Two days after the pretest, training groups participated in one, two and four sessions of HIIT. Two days after the end of the training protocol, posttest was carried out. Oxygen kinetics parameters were measured by gas analyzer with breath-by breath method during the protocol, in the pretest and posttest test. The findings showed that one session of HIIT had no effects on oxygen kinetic parameters (P>0.05). Two sessions of HIIT improved some oxygen kinetic parameters such as VO2max, oxygen deficit and time constant 2 (P<0.05), but it had no effects on time constant 1 (P>0.05). In addition, four sessions of HIIT improved all oxygen kinetic parameters: VO2max, oxygen deficit, time constant 1 and 2 (P<0.05). It seems that four sessions of HIIT is the minimum necessary time to improve oxygen kinetic parameters and with regard to practical applications, coaches can use this type of training in their training program for faster improvement of aerobic and anaerobic performances.