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Updated: Jul 14, 2025
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A Real-World High-Intensity Interval Training Protocol for Cardiorespiratory Fitness Improvement
Published on: February 22, 2022
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A Perspective on High-Intensity Interval Training for Performance and Health
Alexandra M Coates1, Michael J Joyner2, Jonathan P Little3
1Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)
|October 7, 2023
Summary
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) offers performance benefits for athletes and health improvements for inactive individuals. Standardizing HIIT intensity definitions is crucial for effective application in both performance and health contexts.
Area of Science:
- Exercise Physiology
- Sports Science
- Cardiovascular Health
Background:
- Interval training, a method of repeated hard work bouts with recovery, has a long history in athletic performance.
- Its application for health improvement in deconditioned or inactive individuals is also well-established.
- A lack of standardized terminology, particularly for intensity classification, hinders consistent interpretation and application of high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a conceptual framework for defining and operationalizing high-intensity interval training (HIIT) in both performance and health contexts.
- To clarify the intensity domains relevant to HIIT for athletes and general health.
- To distinguish sprint interval training as a distinct, highly intense variant of HIIT.
Main Methods:
- Review and synthesis of existing literature on interval training and high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
- Categorization of HIIT intensity based on physiological markers for performance (e.g., critical power, lactate thresholds).
- Definition of HIIT intensity for health contexts using public health and exercise guidelines (e.g., perceived exertion, heart rate).
Main Results:
- In performance contexts, HIIT is defined as exercise above the heavy-intensity domain, primarily within the severe-intensity domain.
- In health contexts, HIIT is defined as exercise above moderate intensity, aligning with vigorous intensity classifications.
- Sprint interval training is characterized by near-maximal to maximal efforts, corresponding to the highest intensity classifications.
Conclusions:
- Standardized definitions for HIIT intensity are needed for both athletic performance and health applications.
- HIIT is a valuable tool for enhancing athletic performance and improving cardiorespiratory fitness in various populations.
- Further research with robust designs is required to optimize HIIT prescriptions and understand responses across different strategies.
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