HIIT and SIT

• Interval training used by athletes since at

least the 1930s (Czech runner Emil
Zátopek, 5,000/10,000m runner in the
1950s)
• HIIT (high percentage of VO2max)
• SIT (maximal/all out intensity)
• Tabata (Japan), Gibala (McMaster,
Canada)
Body Composition and Cardiac Output Changes
(MacPherson et al. Med Sci Spt Exerc, 2011)

• attempted to determine if SIT enhances body

composition or cardiac output
• 20 young adults (Kin students or Ultimate Frisbee
players; 12 men & 8 women) matched and divided into 2
groups:
– SIT (4-6, 30 sec running sprints; 4 min recovery)
– ET (30-60 min at 65% VO2max)
• trained for 6 weeks (3 times/week)
• total training time:
– SIT: 0.75 h
– ET: 13.5 h
Is maximal effort needed or is a high percentage
of maximum sufficient?

Constant Load Increasing/Decreasing

Typical Session
12.5% 11.5%

* P<0.017
† P=0.045

7.1%
9.5%

* P=0.01
2000m Run

*P=0.001
5.9%
4.6%
 Body Fat Mass (kg)

16.0 ↓ 1.7kg ↓ 0.8kg

15.0
14.0
13.0 13.7 13.9 *
*
12.0 12.0
13.1

11.0 PRE- POST PRE- POST

10.0
Sprint Endurance
*Significantly less than pre-training value (p=0.002), losses were
nonsignificant between groups. n=10 per group. Values are means±SEM
(McPherson, Hazell, Olver, Paterson, Lemon 2011).
 Summary/Conclusions
• 6 wk SIT produces similar improvement as ET in:
– VO2max
– 2000 m run time trial
• equal or greater body fat losses vs ET
– mechanism
• changes in fat metabolism?
• decreased appetite?
• increased metabolism in recovery?
• fat loss greater in men?
• greater peripheral (muscle) stimulus
• little or no central (CV) stimulus
• likely longer sprint intervals or a combination of short
sprint intervals and continuous training are optimal
• second study where we followed 15 women
over 6 weeks of SIT
• 3 X per week (4 bouts in wk 1&2; 5 in wk 3&4;
6 in wk 5&6)
– lost 1.2 kg of fat and 2.8 cm off their waist
– SIT enhances body composition for women but
perhaps less so than in men

Hazell et al, 2014

 Hazell et al, 2014

* P<0.05
 SIT: Intensity/Duration/Recovery Time
(Hazell et al. EJAP 2010)
• attempted to determine the mechanism responsible for SIT effects:
– generation of peak power
– attempted maintenance of high power
– length of the recovery period
• 48 young adult subjects (Kin students or Ultimate Frisbee players;
35 men and 13 women) matched and divided into 4 groups:
– control
– 30 sec cycle max sprints: 4 min recovery
– 10 sec cycle max sprints: 4 min recovery
– 10 sec cycle max sprints: 2 min recovery
– started with 4 reps progressed to 6 reps (increased by one every two
sessions)
• trained for 2 weeks (3 times per week)
Power (W /kg) Wingate Cycle Test

16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Time (sec)
Wingate Cycle Test - 30 sec maximal effort
(10% body mass load)
** P<0.001
V e lo c ity (m

20

Constant

Increasing/Decreasing

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Time (sec)
SIT: Intensity/Duration/Recovery Time

** P<0.001
* P<0.003
SIT: Intensity/Duration/Recovery Time

** P<0.001
† P<0.06
SIT: Intensity/Duration/Recovery Time
(Wingate Test)

** P<0.001
* P<0.003
SIT: Intensity/Duration/Recovery Time
(Wingate Test)
** P<0.001
* P<0.003
 Summary/Conclusions
• 2 weeks (6 sessions) of 10 sec SIT increase:
– VO2max
– peak Wingate power
– 5km time trial performance (~9min effort)
• little difference between 2 and 4 min of
recovery
• no change in body composition
• main stimulus appears to be the generation of
the peak power; therefore, intensity appears
to be most critical
 Post exercise VO2 (Hazell et al. 2011)
• attempted to determine whether SIT induces
significant increases in post exercise VO2 to
explain fat losses
• 8 young men (Kin students) competed:
– SIT: 4 max cycle sprints of 30 sec with 4 min
recovery
– ET: 30 min at 70% VO2max
• measured VO2 during and 24 h following
exercise
– collected eight 30 min periods over 24 h
 Protocol

Exercise
During exercise bout: ET
VO2 > 143%
 ET VO2 15% > SIT
unlike letters P < 0.001

ET = 485.3±46.8 L
SIT = 483.9±40.2 L
- exercise = 85.8  3.2 min of glycogen depleting interval cycling
- meals consisting of high CHO at 1, 4, & 7h post exercise
- note high blood FFA conc prior to meals and low RER over 18h of recovery suggesting significant fat
oxidation despite CHO intake & elevated circulating insulin (Kimber et al, 2003)
Beaulieu, Olver, Abbott, Lemon, 2015
 Chin et al. Med Sci Sports Exercise, 2020
• 12 × 1-min bouts (90% heart rate reserve* with 11 × 1-min bouts
at 70% heart rate reserve) vs moderate-intensity continuous
training (MICT) and CONTROLS
• HIT (1,2, or 3 times/wk) vs MICT (3 times/wk) for 8 wk
• Aerobic capacity & fat-free mass significantly increased in all
groups vs CONTROLS (P < 0.05)
• Body fat mass & systolic blood pressure significantly decreased
after 8 wk in all exercise groups vs CONTROLS (P < 0.05)
• Body fat mass significantly decreased after 4 wk in
all HIIT groups vs CONTROLS (P < 0.05) but not in the MICT
group
*HRR = [(Hrmax – Hrrest) X 0.7] -Hrrest
 Wolfe et al. Med Sci Sports Exercise, 2020
(exercise snacking)
• 8-h of sitting (SIT) vs equal sitting time interrupted with
five SPRINTS (4 secs all out × 5 per h × 8 h or 160
sec/day). The morning after the interventions,
triacylglycerol and fat oxidation were measured over 6-h.
Plasma glucose, insulin, and triacylglycerol
concentrations were measured bihourly and incremental
area under the curve (AUC) was calculated
• SPRINTS displayed a 31% (408 ± 119 vs 593 ± 88
mg·dL-1 per 6 h; P = 0.009) decrease in plasma
triglyceride incremental AUC & a 43% increase in
whole-body fat oxidation (P=0.001), when compared
with SIT
 Summary/Conclusions
• much greater VO2 for ET during exercise
• protracted increased in VO2 into recovery for SIT such that
24 h totals for ET & SIT are similar
• over a 6 week program of 3 sessions per week this
expenditure would equate to ~1.1 kg
• a significant part of the observed body fat loss with SIT is
due to this increased post exercise metabolism
• food intake decreased?
• prolonged changes in fat utilization?
• interesting decreased RER post SIT exercise
• health/performance benefits with as few as 1 session/wk
• exercise snacking needs promotion for health
 Potential Supplements?
• carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) is a dipeptide of the
amino acids beta-alanine and histidine
– highly concentrated in muscle & brain
– highest in fast twitch muscle
– mechanism?
• antioxidant
• pH buffering role
– increases in muscle with training
– can be increased by ~60-80% with beta-alanine supplementation (~5-6
g/day) over 4-10 wk
– performance benefits observed in intense exercise (13-16%)
• creatine
• chocolate milk
• citrulline (nitric oxide), nitrates (vasodilator/reduce O2 cost of
exercise), others?