The aim of this study is to clarify the effects of 3-week work-matched high-intensity intermittent cycling training (HIICT) with different cadences on the VO_2max of university athletes. Eighteen university athletes performed HIICT with either 60 rpm (n = 9) or 120 rpm (n = 9). The HIICT consisted of eight sets of 20 s exercise with a 10 s passive rest between each set. The initial training intensity was set at 135% of VO_2max and was decreased by 5% every two sets. Athletes in both groups performed nine sessions of HIICT during a 3-week period. The total workload and achievement rate of the workload calculated before experiments in each group were used for analysis. VO_2max was measured pre- and post-training. After 3 weeks of training, no significant differences in the total workload and the achievement rate of the workload were found between the two groups. VO_2max similarly increased in both groups from pre- to post-training (p = 0.016), with no significant differences between the groups (p = 0.680). These results suggest that cadence during HIICT is not a training variable affecting the effect of VO_2max.

The effects of repeated sprint training with constant rest intervals (CRIs) vs. incremental rest intervals (IRIs), without matching the total rest duration, on muscle fatigue, glycolytic metabolism, and anaerobic work capacity remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to examine the effects of repeated sprint training with CRIs vs. IRIs on the decrement score, a measure of muscle fatigue; blood lactate concentration; and Wingate anaerobic test performance. We hypothesized that the decrement score, a measure of muscle fatigue, would be significantly lower after repeated sprint training with IRIs than after repeated sprint training with CRIs. Furthermore, we hypothesized that the blood lactate concentration would be equivalent with IRIs or CRIs and that the Wingate anaerobic test performance would be equally improved. In total, 17 male participants performed nine sessions of repeated sprint training (10 sets × 10-s maximal pedaling) within 3 weeks. They were assigned to either the group that underwent repeated sprint training with CRIs (30-s rest intervals between sets) or the same training with IRIs (30-s rest intervals until the fifth set, and then the rest interval was increased by 10-s for each set from the sixth set onwards). The decrement score showed no statistically significant difference between the groups in all sessions. The blood lactate concentration was measured in sessions one and nine and significantly decreased from sessions one to nine in both groups ( p < 0.05). However, the blood lactate concentration did not differ significantly between the groups in sessions one and nine. From pre-training to post-training, the peak power during the Wingate anaerobic test did not increase in either group. The mean power during the Wingate anaerobic test increased significantly in both groups ( p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between the groups. These results suggest that RST with IRIs may not provide additional benefits compared to RST with CRIs in untrained young adults.

The aim of this study was to clarify effects of 3-week work-matched high-intensity intermittent cycling training (HIICT) with different cadences on VO2max in university athletes. Eighteen university athletes performed HIICT with either 60 rpm (n = 9) or 120 rpm (n = 9). HIICT consisted of eight sets of 20-s exercise with a 10-s passive rest between each sets. The initial training intensity was set at 135% of VO2 max and was decreased by 5% every two sets. Athletes in both groups performed 9 sessions of HIICT during 3-week. The total work-load and achievement rate of the work load calculated before experiments in each group were used for analysis. VO2max was measured pre and post-training. After 3-week of training, no significant differences in the total work-load and achievement rate of the work load were found between the two groups. VO2max similarly increased in both groups from pre to post training (p = 0.016), with no significant differences between the groups (p = 0.680). These results suggest that cadence during HIICT is not training variable affecting effect of VO2max.