LABORATORY CLASS DISCUSSION

TOPIC 8 • Questioning subjects.

• Decision of work to rest ratio.
INTERVAL TRAINING • Type of relief (recovery) to use.
– work or rest relief.
• Outcome in regard to difficulty for subjects.

INTERVAL TRAINING CONSTRUCTING AN INTERVAL

NOMENCLATURE TRAINING PROGRAM (ITP)
• 1. Determine which energy system(s) need to be
• Work bout or work interval improved.*
• Exercise bout or exercise interval • 2. Select the type of activity (exercise) to be used
• Effort phase during the work interval (specificity).
• Relief or relief interval • 3. Select the correct rate and distance (time) of
the work interval.*
• Rest or rest interval • 4. Select the number of repetitions and sets to be
• Recovery or recovery phase used.
• Work relief & rest relief • 5. Select the type and duration of the relief
interval.*
• Active & passive recovery
• 6. Include progressive overload into the training
program.

Source: Fox, E.L., & Mathews, D.K. (1974). Interval training: Conditioning for sports and general fitness. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.
Source: Fox, E.L., & Mathews, D.K. (1974). Interval training: Conditioning for sports and general fitness. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.

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Source: Fox, E.L., & Mathews, D.K. (1974). Interval training: Conditioning for sports and general fitness. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company. Source: Foss, M.L., & Keteyian, S.J. (1998). Fox’s physiological basis for exercise and sport (6th ed.). Boston: WCB McGraw-Hill.

CHOICE OF RELIEF INTERVAL

• Rest relief is usually chosen for training the
ATP-PC & O2 systems.
– allows PCr resynthesis.*
– minimizes lactic acid accumulation.
• Work relief is usually the method of choice
for training the glycolytic (LA) system.
– restricts PCr resynthesis.
– stresses anaerobic glycolysis.
– excellent for lactate tolerance work.
– used when goal is to improve buffering of H+.
Source: Foss, M.L., & Keteyian, S.J. (1998). Fox’s physiological basis for exercise and sport (6th ed.). Boston: WCB McGraw-Hill.

DURATION OF RELIEF INTERVAL

• For ATP-PC system
– time to allow significant PCr resynthesis.
– subsequent work intervals are usually commenced
before full PCr resynthesis.
– usually follows 1:3 work: rest ratio or greater.
• Often set up to allow HR to return to:
– ~ 150 bpm between repetitions.
– ~ 120 bpm between sets.
• Normally very short when training the O2 system.
– work: rest ratio usually 1:1 or less.
– sometimes as low as 10 - 15 seconds with work
durations in excess of 1.5 minutes.*
Source: Wilmore, J.H., & Costill, D.L. (1999). Physiology of sport and exercise (2nd ed.). Champaign: Human Kinetics.

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 FREQUENCY OF INTERVAL
PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD
TRAINING
• How is it achieved in ITPs? • 2-3 sessions per week shown to improve all
• Achieved by gradually increasing the intensity of energy systems.
the workouts over the course of the ITP.
• Only small extra improvements with 4 or 5
• The intensity of the session can be increased by: days per week.
– 1. ↑ the intensity of the work intervals.
– need to balance % improvement against time
– 2. ↓ the duration of the relief (recovery) intervals.
required.
– 3. ↑ the number of sets per workout.
– 4. A combination of the above. • Elite athletes usually train more frequently.
– need to be cognizant of potential for over-
training.

MAINTENANCE OF FITNESS

• Once a significant level of fitness has been

achieved through interval training a lower
volume of work may be undertaken for
maintenance purposes.
– once per week is adequate.*
– intensity of maintenance work must remain
high.

Source: Fox, E.L., & Mathews, D.K. (1974). Interval training: Conditioning for sports and general fitness. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.

REFERENCES
• Foss, M.L., & Keteyian, S.J. (1998). Fox’s
physiological basis for exercise and sport (6th
ed.). Boston: WCB McGraw-Hill.
• Fox, E.L., & Mathews, D.K. (1974). Interval
training: Conditioning for sports and general
fitness. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.
• Wilmore, J.H., & Costill, D.L. (1999). Physiology
of sport and exercise (2nd ed.). Champaign:
Human Kinetics.
Source: Fox, E.L., & Mathews, D.K. (1974). Interval training: Conditioning for sports and general fitness. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company.