Standardized Versus Customized High-Intensity Training: Effects on Cycling Performance
Click name to view affiliation
Search for other papers by Benoit Capostagno in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Michael I. Lambert in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Robert P. Lamberts in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purpose:
To determine whether a submaximal cycling test could be used to monitor and prescribe high-intensity interval training (HIT).
Methods:
Two groups of male cyclists completed 4 HIT sessions over a 2-wk period. The structured-training group (SG; n = 8, VO2max = 58.4 ± 4.2 mL · min−1 · kg−1) followed a predetermined training program while the flexible-training group (FG; n = 7, VO2max = 53.9 ± 5.0 mL · min−1 · kg−1) had the timing of their HIT sessions prescribed based on the data of the Lamberts and Lambert Submaximal Cycle Test (LSCT).
Results:
Effect-size calculations showed large differences in the improvements in 40-km time-trial performance after the HIT training between SG (8 ± 45 s) and FG (48 ± 42 s). Heart-rate recovery, monitored during the study, tended to increase in FG and remain unchanged in SG.
Conclusions:
The results of the current study suggest that the LSCT may be a useful tool for coaches to monitor and prescribe HIT.
The authors are with the UCT/MRC Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Sport Science Institute of South Africa, Newlands, South Africa.
© 2023 Human Kinetics