The Effect of a 6-Week High Intensity Interval Training Program on Aerobic and Anaerobic Fitness in Collegiate Dancers
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by a student grant from the UI Office of Undergraduate Research.
Abstract
Background: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to improve physical fitness in a short period of time. Purpose: To investigate the effects of a 6-week HIIT cycling intervention on aerobic and anaerobic fitness in college dance majors or minors. Methods: Fifteen participants (age 20.3 ± 1.9 y) were recruited for this study. HIIT sessions were performed for 30-minutes twice a week where the first 2 weeks involved 4 high-intensity (HI) bouts for 1 minute ≥85% VO2peak interspersed by 2 minutes of active recovery at 30% VO2peak, and the remaining 4 weeks involved 8 HI bouts. Pre- and post-testing included anaerobic (Wingate) and aerobic performance testing (VO2peak). Data were analyzed using SPSS v.25 and reported as mean ± SD. Significance was accepted at p< 0.05. Results: Paired samples t-tests indicated that participants significantly increased aerobic capacity (VO2peak:29.9 ± 7.5 vs 32.8 ± 7.9 ml·kg-1·min-1; p< 0.001) and peak power (Wingate: 450.4 ± 139.1 vs 524.5 ± 150.9 W; p< 0.001). There was a non-significant increase in mean power output (Wingate: 347.6 ± 97.5 vs 368.0 ± 114.6 W; p=0.06). Discussion: The results of this study support the theory that HIIT may be a simple way to supplement dancer training to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
The Effect of a 6-Week High Intensity Interval Training Program on Aerobic and Anaerobic Fitness in Collegiate Dancers
Background: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has been shown to improve physical fitness in a short period of time. Purpose: To investigate the effects of a 6-week HIIT cycling intervention on aerobic and anaerobic fitness in college dance majors or minors. Methods: Fifteen participants (age 20.3 ± 1.9 y) were recruited for this study. HIIT sessions were performed for 30-minutes twice a week where the first 2 weeks involved 4 high-intensity (HI) bouts for 1 minute ≥85% VO2peak interspersed by 2 minutes of active recovery at 30% VO2peak, and the remaining 4 weeks involved 8 HI bouts. Pre- and post-testing included anaerobic (Wingate) and aerobic performance testing (VO2peak). Data were analyzed using SPSS v.25 and reported as mean ± SD. Significance was accepted at p< 0.05. Results: Paired samples t-tests indicated that participants significantly increased aerobic capacity (VO2peak:29.9 ± 7.5 vs 32.8 ± 7.9 ml·kg-1·min-1; p< 0.001) and peak power (Wingate: 450.4 ± 139.1 vs 524.5 ± 150.9 W; p< 0.001). There was a non-significant increase in mean power output (Wingate: 347.6 ± 97.5 vs 368.0 ± 114.6 W; p=0.06). Discussion: The results of this study support the theory that HIIT may be a simple way to supplement dancer training to improve aerobic and anaerobic fitness.