Athlete, Healthy, Performance
Conditions
Keywords
High-intensity interval training, Microcycle, Endurance training, Load monitoring, Athlete performance, HIT training, Block training, HIT block, Polarized training
Brief summary
A randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the effects of two versions of 10 high intensity interval trainings (HIIT) within a 7-day shock microcycle on endurance performance, well-being, health, stress and recovery in trained athletes.
Detailed description
Thirty-six trained endurance athletes will be recruited and randomly assigned to either a high volume (HIIT-HV) group, a low volume (HIIT-LV) group, or a control group. All participants will be monitored before (9 days), during (7 days), and after (14 days) a 7-day training intervention, for 30 days. Participants in both intervention groups will complete 10 HIIT sessions within the period of 7 days, with an additional 30 minutes of low-intensity training exclusively in HIIT-HV. HIIT sessions consist of aerobic HIIT, i.e., 5x4min at 90-95% of maximal heart rate interspersed by 2.5 min active recovery periods. To determine the effects of the intervention, performance diagnostics, and a 5 kilometer time trial will be conducted before and after the intervention. In addition, participants are closely monitored for general health, stress, fatigue, recovery, neuromuscular performance, executive functions and sleep.
Interventions
OTHERExercise
high-intensity interval training sessions
Sponsors
Paracelsus Medical University
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
University of Salzburg
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Participants are randomly assigned in either one of 2 intervention groups or a control group (ratio 1:1:1).
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Female or male * aged 18-45 years * Proof of physical fitness (e.g. sports medical examination required) for measurements with higher intensities (e.g. endurance tests, competition simulation) * Competition experience at the national or international level in an endurance sport * VO2max ≥50ml/kg/min for females; ≥55 ml/kg/min for males or a 5-kilometer (km) time trial performance of ≤ 20:00 min (female), or ≤ 18:30 min (male)
Exclusion criteria
* Systemic disease or other known pathology in the organs: heart, lungs, kidney, stomach, spleen, liver, gall bladder, and intestines. * Evidence of pulmonary disease: forced expiratory volume in one second/forced expiratory volume \< 70% with/without symptoms (cough, sputum) or other evidence of pulmonologic disease. * Diabetes II. * Neurological or psychological disease of any kind. * Currently undergoing medical or psycho-therapeutic treatment. * Health condition that does not allow regular participation in the training forms (e.g. acute illnesses such as fever or other flu-like infections within the last 7 days before the start of the study), orthopedic diseases, injuries to the muscular, bone, joint or tendon apparatus within the last three months. * Alcohol or drug abuse. * Already high training volume with high intensity training (more than 2 weekly training sessions of high-intensity training)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Endurance performance I | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max in ml/min/kg) compared to baseline and group |
| Endurance performance II | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of peak performance (Ppeak in Watt) compared to baseline and group |
| Endurance performance III | 20 to 22 days (the assessment is conducted once before, and once after the intervention) | Change of 5 kilometer time trial performance (in sec) compared to baseline and group |
| Endurance performance IV | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of lactate threshold (in km/h) compared to baseline and group |
| Endurance performance V | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of ventilatory thresholds (in km/h) compared to baseline and group |
| Endurance performance VI | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of running economy (in ml/min/kg) compared to baseline and group |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change of cell-free DNA | 30 days (blood is drawn from participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of cell-free DNA concentrations compared to baseline and group |
| Change of creatine kinase | 30 days (blood is drawn from participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of creatine kinase concentrations compared to baseline and group |
| Change of urea | 30 days (blood is drawn from participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of urea concentrations compared to baseline and group |
| Change of executive functions - 2 back task | 30 days (executive functions are tested several times before, during, and after the intervention) | Change of executive functions compared to baseline and group. This is assessed through a 2-back task showing dots on a dice, numbers and geometrical figures. |
| Change of blood lactate | 30 days (blood is drawn from participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of blood lactate concentrations compared to baseline and group |
| Change of cytokines | 30 days (blood is drawn from participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of cytokine concentrations compared to baseline and group |
| Change of miRNA | 30 days (blood is drawn from participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of miRNA compared to baseline and group |
| Change of neuromuscular performance | 30 days (neuromuscular performance is assessed several times before, during, and after the intervention) | Change of neuromuscular performance (counter movement jump height in cm) measured on a contact plate (AMTI, Watertown, USA) compared to baseline and group |
| Change of body weight | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of body weight in kg compared to baseline and group |
| Change of fat free mass | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of fat free mass in kg compared to baseline and group |
| Change of questionnaire scores - well-being | 30 days (questionnaires will be given to participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of questionnaire scores compared to baseline and group as determined by a Visual-Analogue-Scale (from 0-100 millimeters). Higher scores indicate poorer well-being. |
| Change of forced expiratory volume | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of forced expiratory volume in liters compared to baseline and group |
| Change of power output during exercise | 7 days | Change of power output in Watt (as determined via Stryd, Boulder, USA) during the intervention compared to baseline and group |
| Change of sleep quality I - GPS watch | 30 days (sleep is assessed several times before, during, and after the intervention) | Change of sleep quality compared to baseline and group as determined by a GPS (Global Positioning System) watch |
| Change of sleep quality II - ABIOS App | 30 days (sleep is assessed several times before, during, and after the intervention) | Change of sleep quality compared to baseline and group as determined by the ABIOS (Algorithmik Biodata System) application |
| Correlations between sleep quality devices | 30 days | To determine the correlations between different sleep monitoring devices, i.e. the GPS watch (see outcome 27), the ABIOS system (see outcome 28) and the sleep quality questionnaire (see outcome 11) |
| Change of parameters recorded by an electrocardiogram - mean heart rate | 30 days (an electrocardiogram is written several times before, during, and after the intervention) | Change of mean heart rate compared to baseline and group |
| Change of parameters recorded by an electrocardiogram - heart rate variability | 30 days (an electrocardiogram is written several times before, during, and after the intervention) | Change of heart rate variability (root mean sum of squared distance in ms) compared to baseline and group |
| Change of executive functions - Eriksen flanker task | 30 days (executive functions are tested several times before, during, and after the intervention) | Change of executive functions compared to baseline and group. This is recorded through a modified Eriksen flanker task consisting of 108 images showing five white arrows on a black screen. |
| Cardiac ultrasound | 1 day (this outcome will be determined once before study start) | Description of an athlete cohort regarding cardiac chamber volume (in ml, determined via EPIQ CVX, X5-1, Philips Healthcare, Andover, MA, USA) |
| Adherence to training program | 7 days | Adherence to the HIIT training programs (determined as the ratio of training sessions performed to prescribed training sessions). This is determined by the researchers by checking the training data of the athletes. For example, if 9 out of 10 sessions were performed, this means 90% adherence. |
| Change of fat mass | 10 to 21 days (assessment is conducted once before the intervention and repeated three times afterwards, i.e. 3, 7 and 14 days after the completion of the intervention) | Change of fat mass in kg compared to baseline and group |
| Change of questionnaire scores - muscular fatigue | 30 days (questionnaires will be given to participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of questionnaire scores compared to baseline and group as determined by a Visual-Analogue-Scale (from 0-100 millimeters). Higher scores indicate higher degree of fatigue. |
| Change of questionnaire scores - vitality | 30 days (questionnaires will be given to participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of questionnaire scores compared to baseline and group as determined by a Likert-Scale (from 0-10). Higher scores indicate higher vitality. |
| Change of questionnaire scores - rate of fatigue | 30 days (questionnaires will be given to participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of questionnaire scores compared to baseline and group as determined by a Likert-Scale (from 0-10). Higher scores indicate higher degree of fatigue. |
| Change of questionnaire scores - sleep quality | 30 days (questionnaires will be given to participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of questionnaire scores compared to baseline and group as determined by a Likert-Scale (from 1-7). Higher scores indicate poorer sleep. |
| Change of blood count | 30 days (blood is drawn from participants several times before, during, and after the intervention.) | Change of blood count concentrations compared to baseline and group |
Countries
Austria
Outcome results
None listed