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A Real-World High-Intensity Interval Training Protocol for Cardiorespiratory Fitness Improvement
Published on: February 22, 2022
Heart rate and exercise intensity during training: observations from the DREW Study.
C R Mikus1, C P Earnest, S N Blair
1Preventive Medicine Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, 6400 Perkins Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA.
British Journal of Sports Medicine
|April 9, 2008
Summary
Cardiovascular drift did not significantly reduce exercise intensity in overweight, sedentary women. This finding suggests that heart rate monitoring may still be a reliable indicator of exercise intensity during moderate aerobic activity.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Cardiovascular Health
- Sports Science
Background:
- Cardiovascular drift (CVdrift) is a rise in heart rate (HR) during sustained moderate-intensity aerobic exercise.
- This phenomenon can complicate exercise intensity monitoring, potentially leading to reduced work rates to maintain target HR.
- Understanding CVdrift's impact is crucial for accurate exercise prescription and research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if cardiovascular drift leads to clinically significant reductions in exercise work rate.
- To analyze the relationship between HR increases and exercise intensity changes in a large cohort of women.
Main Methods:
- A randomized, prospective study using data from the Dose Response to Exercise in Women (DREW) database.
- Analysis of 12,963 treadmill and cycling exercise sessions in overweight, previously sedentary postmenopausal women.
- Monitoring changes in HR and exercise intensity (METS) during exercise sessions.
Main Results:
- Small increases in HR (1-4 bpm) and intensity (0.01-0.03 METS) were observed across most sessions.
- Intensity reductions potentially due to CVdrift occurred in only 0.78% of all exercise sessions.
- No clinically significant decrease in exercise intensity was linked to cardiovascular drift.
Conclusions:
- Cardiovascular drift does not appear to cause significant reductions in exercise intensity.
- The findings suggest that HR monitoring remains a viable method for assessing exercise intensity in similar populations.
- This study contributes to a better understanding of physiological responses during aerobic exercise.
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