Adaptations of the Body through Interval Training and the Benefits that can Occur from them.
Exercise is traditionally defined as either endurance or strength or viewed as a continuum anchored by these common descriptors. In accordance with the principle of training specificity, endurance training is associated with improving capacity for aerobic energy, metabolism, and fatigue resistance; where strength training is linked to muscle hypertrophy and increased force-generating capacity. Interval training, which can be simply defined as intermittent periods of intense exercise separated by periods of recovery, occupies a sort of middle ground. Depending on the specific protocol employed, this type of training …show more content…
As a result, exercise training lessens glycogen degradation and lactate production at a given intensity, while increasing the lactate threshold and allowing individuals to exercise for longer durations and at greater percentages of their maximum aerobic capacity (Joyner & Coyle, 2008). Thus, given its central role in exercise performance, there is considerable interest in the factors mediating exercise-induced mitochondrial adaptations.
The relatively rapid rate at which mitochondrial content responds to training permits relatively short-term studies of mitochondrial adaptations in humans. Similar to moderate-intensity continuous training, a single session of HIIT or SIT activates signalling pathways associated with mitochondrial biogenesis. The regular and repeated activation of these pathways leads to increases in mitochondrial …show more content…
For skeletal muscle mitochondrial adaptations and maximum aerobic capacity, exercise intensity mediates responses to training: relative to moderate-intensity continuous training, physiological adaptations to interval training are seemingly greater when training volumes are equal or similar when the volume of interval training is lower. For other physiological variables, the effect of intensity is unclear, and it is uncertain whether interval training is advantageous compared to moderate-intensity continuous training. Given the relative lack of data regarding the influences of exercise duration and training frequency on physiological adaptations to exercise, particularly for interval exercise, more research is needed to understand how these training variables impact peripheral and central adaptations to interval exercise. Specifically, we are unable to determine whether performing longer durations (i.e. a greater numbers of bouts per session) or greater frequencies of interval training would have beneficial effects for any of the variables in question. In summary, interval training is a powerful stimulus to elicit improvements in mitochondrial content and maximum aerobic capacity; however, we know relatively little regarding the influences of exercise intensity, duration, and frequency on other components of the