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The Impact of Rest Duration On Work Intensity and RPE During Interval Training
The Impact of Rest Duration On Work Intensity and RPE During Interval Training
ABSTRACT
SEILER, S., and K. J. HETLELID. The Impact of Rest Duration on Work Intensity and RPE during Interval Training. Med. Sci. Sports
Exerc., Vol. 37, No. 9, pp. 16011607, 2005. Purpose: To investigate the effect of rest duration on self-selected intensity, physiological
responses, and RPE during a standardized, high-intensity interval training prescription. Subjects: Nine well-trained male runners
O2max 71 4 mLkg1min1) performed three treadmill interval training sessions running at constant 5% incline. Six 4-min work
(V
bouts with either 1-, 2-, or 4-min recovery periods were performed in each session. Sessions were prescribed as high-intensity
workouts with the goal being to achieve the highest possible average running speed for the work intervals. Subjects regulated their work
and rest intensity based on these instructions. In a fourth interval session, subjects self-selected recovery time in response to a fixed
intensity. Results: Running velocity increased slightly (14.7 0.7 vs 14.4 0.8 kmh1, P 0.02) when rest increased from 1 to
O2 was slightly higher with a 2-min rest duration
2 min, but showed no further increase with a 4-min rest (14.7 0.6 kmh1). Work V
compared with 1 and 4 min (66.2 4.2 vs 65.1 4.2 and 64.9 4.7 mLkg1min1, P 0.05). Peak blood lactate was similar (6.2
2.6, 6.8 2.9, 6.2 2.6 mmolL1) across conditions, whereas peak RPE was slightly lower during the 4-min rest condition (17.1
1.3, 17.7 1.5, 16.8 1.5, P 0.05). With self-selected recovery time and no knowledge of elapsed time, the average rest duration
was 118 23 s. Conclusions: Under self-paced conditions, varying rest duration in a range of 1 to 4 min had limited impact on
performance during repeated 4-min high-intensity exercise bouts. Approximately 120 s of active recovery may provide an appropriate
O2 on-kinetics. Key Words: INTERMITTENT EXERCISE,
balance between intracellular restitution and maintenance of high V
PACING, ENDURANCE, RUNNING, TELEOANTICIPATION
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concept has been discussed (25) and experimentally explored (14,20,23) with reference to a steady-state exercise
model, it is also relevant to intermittent exercise.
Our interest has been to recreate this common interval
training scenario in the laboratory to better understand how
athletes actually respond to different interval training prescriptions perceptually and physiologically. Two critical
variables in the interval training prescription are the duration of the work interval and the duration of the rest interval.
In a previous study, we examined how variation in work
interval duration in a range of 1 6 min affected physiological responses and perceived exertion during interval training sessions where well-trained endurance athletes were
uniformly instructed to perform a high-intensity interval
session (24). In the present study, we examined how rest
interval duration during intense aerobic interval training
affects achieved exercise performance, physiological responses, and perceived exertion.
METHODS
Subjects
Twelve well-trained male distance runners and orienteers
volunteered to participate in this investigation, which was
approved by the human subjects research review board of
the Department of Health and Sport, Agder University College. Before providing written consent, participants were
informed of the risks associated with the study and assured
that they could terminate participation at any time. The
athletes were all familiar with high-intensity aerobic interval
training as well as training and testing on a motorized
treadmill. During the data collection period, one athlete
became injured and had to withdraw from the investigation.
The remaining 11 athletes completed the study. However,
two of these did not comply with the intensity prescription
for the interval sessions, choosing instead to restrain their
running velocity to ensure a lower lactate response in keeping with their training philosophy and the time of the season.
This observation was confirmed in discussions with the two
athletes. For this reason, the results presented here are based
on the nine athletes who fully complied with the training
instructions.
Preliminary Testing
One week before starting the interval training sessions,
athletes performed a continuous ramp protocol run to exhaustion for the purpose of quantifying maximal oxygen
O2max), running velocity at maximal oxygen
consumption (V
O2max), maximal HR (HRmax), peak blood
consumption (vV
lactate concentration, and RPEpeak. Both preliminary testing
and subsequent interval training bouts were performed on a
motorized treadmill (Woodway ELG55, Weil am Rhein,
Germany) at constant 5% incline. After a 20-min warm-up,
the test was initiated with a 3-min run at 7 kmh1 with
subsequent increase of 0.75 kmh1 every minute until
voluntary exhaustion. One minute after exhaustion, blood
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was collected from a finger to quantify peak lactate concentration (Lactate Pro LT-1710, Arkay KDK, Japan).
Fixed Recovery Time Trials
For three consecutive weeks, each athlete replaced one
scheduled hard training session with an interval session
performed in the laboratory. Each session consisted of six
work periods of 4-min duration (i.e., total work of 24 min).
The only difference among the three interval sessions was
the rest interval duration, which was randomly changed each
week and equaled either 1, 2, or 4 min. Subjects performed
the three interval sessions at the same time of day each
week. Standardized written instructions were given before
each test. Subjects were asked to treat each interval session
as a high-intensity interval session. They were also instructed to attempt to maintain the highest average running
velocity they could across all the work bouts of each interval
session. Athletes performed the work bouts without feedback about their actual running velocity, oxygen consumption, or blood lactate concentration. However, the athletes
were regularly updated about the time remaining in each
work and rest period.
The end of the warm-up was used to determine the
starting velocity for the first work period. Thereafter, velocity could be increased or decreased at any time via a hand
signal. At frequent intervals, subjects were queried as to
whether they desired more or less speed. During recovery
periods, treadmill velocity was initially set to 5 kmh1,
which the subjects could change as desired. Each new work
bout was started at the velocity at which the subject completed the previous work bout unless otherwise instructed. A
small, motorized fan, positioned in the front of the athlete at
chest height, was used to ensure effective evaporative cooling. Laboratory temperature during all training sessions was
18 20C.
Self-Selected Recovery Duration Trial
In a fourth laboratory training session, completed after the
3-wk block of variable rest duration sessions, subjects performed the same six bouts of 4 min with the same instructions regarding the goal intensity of the training session.
However, in this trial, running velocity was held constant at
the highest average velocity achieved during the three previous training sessions. The subjects determined recovery
duration subjectively between each work period without
feedback regarding elapsed time or HR during recovery.
They were instructed to select the minimum recovery time
necessary to maintain the fixed intensity and complete the
training session. The recovery time used between each work
bout was recorded to the nearest second.
Measurements during Interval Training
Running velocity, gas exchange, and HR data were collected continuously. Blood lactate samples were collected
within 20 s after the first, third, and sixth work periods.
During the interval session with 4-min recovery periods,
http://www.acsm-msse.org
Mean (SD)
Range
Age (yr)
Height (cm)
Weight (kg)
HRmax (bpm)
[Lactate]peak (mmolkg1)
RPEpeak
VO2max (mLkg1min1)
vVO2max (kmh1)
30 (4)
181 (6)
72 (5)
193 (9)
12.6 (2)
18.3 (0.7)
72 (5)
17.6 (1)
2435
170190
6681
178208
8.914.3
1719
6579
15.819.5
Training Control
This study was carried out during the early precompetition preparation phase of training (January/February). Subjects were instructed to abstain from hard training the day
before laboratory sessions. No special attempt was made to
control the diet of the athletes. They were merely reminded
to come to the training session well hydrated and nonfasted.
Statistical Analyses
Physiological and RPE responses during the three different interval sessions were compared using the General Linear Model with repeated measures (SPSS 11.0). Recovery
duration during the self-selected recovery trial was compared over the course of the training session using the same
method. An alpha level of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS
Subject Characteristics
The physical characteristics of the subjects are presented
in Table 1. At the time of the study, all athletes were training
6 to 10 sessions per week, of which one to two were of high
intensity.
REST DURATION AND INTERVAL TRAINING INTENSITY
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RPE. RPE increased linearly throughout the interval sessions (Fig. 3). The intensity was perceived as 14 15 or
hard on the Borg scale after one work bout and reached
16 18 or very hard by the end of the interval session. RPE
responses were quite similar across the three rest duration
conditions. However, at the end of the sixth work bout, RPE
was slightly but significantly higher with 2-min versus
4-min rest periods (17.7 1 vs 16.9 0.6, P 0.05).
Self-selected recovery duration at a fixed running velocity. When running velocity was fixed during a
fourth interval session to equal the average velocity that
each athlete achieved during their best previous training
session, the recovery duration selected by the athletes averaged 118 23 s for the five recovery periods. Further, the
self-selected rest duration remained essentially constant
throughout the interval session (Fig. 4), despite increasing
RPE and blood lactate concentration.
DISCUSSION
The key finding of this study is that within a range
typically used for high-intensity aerobic interval training, a
fourfold increase in recovery time had very little impact on
running velocity or physiological responses during self-
and 4-min rest conditions, respectively). The peak HR recorded during each work bout drifted upward throughout all
three training sessions by a similar amount (12 4, 11
4, and 13 4 bpm). In contrast, the recovery HR, defined
as the lowest HR recorded before the onset of each new
work bout, drifted up significantly more in the 1-min recovery session compared to 2- or 4-min recovery (P
0.05).
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FIGURE 4 Self-selected recovery duration during rest periods separating six 4-min work bouts performed at the average velocity of the
fastest interval bout performed by each subject. Subjects were instructed to rest the minimum time necessary to complete the session at
the fixed velocity. There was no significant change in recovery time
selected over the course of the six work bouts.
http://www.acsm-msse.org
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CONCLUSIONS
Due to difficulties in relating absolute velocities to physiological intensity in many training situations, interval training sessions are often performed in response to a prescription combining work duration, recovery duration, and
number of work bouts. The athletes achieved work intensity for the session represents the dependent variable in a
multivariate equation. In this study, we manipulated the
variable recovery duration in this equation. We observed
that increasing recovery duration from 1 to 4 min actually
had a minimal impact (2% increase) on running velocity
during the work bouts. A 2-min recovery period was sufficient to achieve stable performance during high-intensity
aerobic interval training. Physiologically, this finding is
consistent with the rapid time course of several acute intracellular recovery processes after work cessation. Psychologically, the concept of teleoanticipation discussed in single bout or steady-state exercise scenarios seems to also be
quite relevant to intermittent exercise. During intermittent
exercise athletes perform rapid calculations of how close to
their limits they can perform during each work bout, while
sufficiently recovering during a subsequent rest period to
enable repeated bouts of the same or higher absolute intensity. These teleoanticipatory calculations may be more accurate when athletes use shorter rest intervals or a rest
interval duration with which they are very familiar.(13)
REFERENCES
1. BALSOM, P. D., J. Y. SEGER, B. SJODIN, and B. EKBLOM. Maximalintensity intermittent exercise: effect of recovery duration. Int. J.
Sports Med. 13:528533, 1992.
2. BILLAT. V. L. Interval training for performance: a scientific and
empirical practice. Special recommendations for middle- and
long-distance running. Part I: aerobic interval training. Sports
Med. 31:1331, 2001.
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