Effect of interval training and detraining on anaerobic fitness in women

Seventeen female volunteers (x age = 23.9 yr) participated in a 6 week investigation of the effect of high intensity interval training on anaerobic fitness. The subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment (exercise n = 9) or a control (no exercise n = 8) group. The training program consisted of 10 one minute work periods on the bicycle ergometer separated by one minute rest periods. This was done 3 days per week. The training intensity progressed from 110% of the experimental group's initial mean maximal oxygen intake (VO2 max) at week 1 to 15% of same group's initial mean VO2 max week 6. Improvements in the exercise group were significantly in VO2 max (+7.7%), peak post exercise blood lactate (-62.0%), maximum oxygen debt (+19.8%), and time of bicycle ride to exhaustion (+47.5%). The control group did not change significantly on any of the selected parameters. After 2 weeks of detraining oxygen debt decreased significantly to its pretraining value. The retention of increases in post exercise peak blood lactate and time of bicycle ride to exhaustion was 40% and 38% respectively. Twenty-four % of the increase in VO2 max induced by the training regime was retained.