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CARDIOVASCULAR RESPONSES TO SHORT-TERM SPRINT INTERVAL TRAINING

Abstract

Time constraints have been cited as a common barrier to exercise and healthy lifestyles. Recently, short-term sprint interval training (SIT) has been proposed as an alternative to steady-state exercise due to a much lower time commitment and positive results on cardiovascular profile. PURPOSE: The purpose of this research study was to determine if there is an effect on resting heart rate (RHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in moderately active participants after only four consecutive days of SIT training. METHODS: Five subjects (2 male, 3 female) between the ages of 18-39y performed four consecutive Wingate tests on a cycle ergometer separated by five min of active recovery. RHR, SBP, and DBP were measured pre- and post-assessment and 72-hr following the last test. Dependent t-tests and repeated measures AVOVA evaluated changes in each variable at the p<0.05 level (SPSS, v 22). RESULT: Neither RHR (67.6 +/- 6.4 to 67.4 +/- 12.2 bpm), SBP (114.2 +/- 20.4 to 110.2 +/- 18.3) nor DBP (77.2 +/- 12.0 to 70.2 +/- 9.6 mmHg) improved significantly as a result of the intervention (p>0.05). However, one subject with chronic asthma appeared to respond very differently to the intervention. When these data were removed, both RHR (65.5 +/- 5.0 to 62.3 +/- 4.7 bpm) and DBP (80.5 +/- 10.9 to 71.5 +/- 10.5 mmHg) improved significantly for the remaining subjects, (p<0.05), which agrees with previous research. CONCLUSION: When including only healthy participants without asthma, we demonstrated a significant effect of a four-day SIT intervention on RHR and DBP. Replicating this study with additional healthy subjects is necessary to confirm our results in a larger sample.

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