Oxygen cost of sprint training

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Athletic Training

Background:

• Sprint training is crucial for athletic performance.
• Understanding the physiological demands of sprint training is essential for optimizing performance and preventing injury.
• Previous research has not fully profiled oxygen uptake kinetics during a complete sprint training session.

Purpose of the Study:

• To profile the oxygen uptake (VO2) and heart rate (HR) kinetics of female sprinters during a typical 65-minute sprint training session.
• To determine if VO2 increases across a series of sprints within a training session.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive study involving 11 female NCAA Division II sprinters and jumpers.
• Assessed VO2max, VO2, and HR kinetics during a treadmill-based sprint session.
• Session included warm-up, stretching, acceleration runs, 8x20s sprints at 150% velocity VO2max (vVO2max) with walk recovery, and cool-down.

Main Results:

• Mean VO2 and HR for the entire session were 19.1±7.6 mL/kg/min and 138.7±24.0 b/min.
• VO2 peaked at 33 mL/kg/min (73% of VO2max) during and immediately after each 20s sprint.
• VO2 remained relatively constant across the series of eight sprints, contrary to hypothesis.

Conclusions:

• VO2 during sprint training in female college athletes is highly variable.
• Each sprint bout elevated VO2 to 33 mL/kg/min, but VO2 did not accumulate across the training session.
• Chronic sprint training may contribute to a moderate aerobic training effect, with implications for program design.