EFFECTS OF CONTINUOUS, INTERVAL AND SPEED TRAINING ON ANAEROBIC CAPACITY

Abstract

The laboratory determination of the maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) is thought to provide a quantitative measure of an athletes' anaerobic capacity. Although, studies examining the impact of various training programs on MAOD are scare. PURPOSE To determine the trainability of MAOD after the application of continuous, interval and speed running training. METHODS Thirty-eight active men and women participated in this study. The mean (± SD) age, height, weight and VO2max for the subjects were 22.4 ± 1.9yr, 170.9 ± 7.9cm, 65.9 ± 9.9kg and 44.6 ± 7.5ml kg-1 min-1. After pre training physiological testing and the determination of MAOD subjects were randomly assigned in three training groups (n = 10 each group) and one control group (n = 8). Training groups followed an eight-week training program 3 days per week. Training intensity and duration for continuous training group (CT), interval training group (IT) and speed training group (ST) were 70%VO2max 30–50 min per session, 85–100%VO2max 16–35 min per session and 100% maximal speed in 20–50m intervals (300–400m total distance) per session respectively. RESULTS After the training period, ST increased MAOD (53.74 ± 19.58 pre vs. 64.22 ± 16.1 post, p = 0.06). MAOD remain unchanged after training for the CT and IT (p>0.05). VO2max increased after training significantly (p < 0.05) only for the IT. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that moderate intensity interval and continuous running training that improves mainly aerobic power did not change anaerobic capacity and that only supramaximal sprint training provides the adequate stimulus to improve it.