Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026
A Real-World High-Intensity Interval Training Protocol for Cardiorespiratory Fitness Improvement
Published on: February 22, 2022
Feasibility and Tolerance of High-Intensity Interval Training in Adults With Cystic Fibrosis
Laurent Mely1, Olivier Meurisse2, Laurene Norberciak3
1Centre de Ressources et de Compétences de la Mucoviscidose (CRCM) mixte du Var-Giens, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
Objectives:
To assess the feasibility and the tolerance of a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program compared with conventional rehabilitation during a 3-week hospital stay in adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) and to analyze the effectiveness and impact on health indicators of HIIT.
Design:
A prospective, 2-center, open-label, randomized, controlled study.
Setting:
Cystic Fibrosis Resource and Expert Centers, Roscoff and Giens (France).
Participants:
A total of 62 adults (aged: 36.1±11y; M/F ratio: 1.3) with CF were included.
Interventions:
Intervention group performed 3 HIIT sessions, alternating 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest repeated 6 times ≥80% of maximum heart rate, and 2 low-intensity sessions per week. Control group (conventional rehabilitation) performed 5, 20-to-30-minute sessions per week at the first aerobic ventilatory threshold.
Main Outcome Measures:
(1) Feasibility was evaluated by compliance; (2) tolerance by the degree of dyspnea and adverse effects; (3) effect on physical capacity using the 6-minute walk, body composition, the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and the multidimensional dyspnea profile; (4) impact on health indicators by the Fibrosis Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression; and (5) participant satisfaction by the STARFISH (perception of physical activity) and the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale.
Results:
Compliance with exercise sessions was marginally higher but statistically significant in the HIIT (93.3%) than the control (86.7%) group, P=.032. However, tolerance was lower in those with severe respiratory impairment and those without cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) modulator therapy. Effectiveness on physical capacity (6-minute walk test, muscle strength, and FEV1) and quality of life was similar between the training methods.
Conclusions:
HIIT is feasible, safe, and well tolerated and could be used as a timesaving alternative to conventional treatment, particularly in people under CFTR modulator therapy.
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