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Sprint exercise snacks: a novel approach to increase aerobic fitness

  • Original Article
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European Journal of Applied Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Sprint interval training (SIT), involving brief intermittent bursts of vigorous exercise within a single training session, is a time-efficient way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). It is unclear whether performing sprints spread throughout the day with much longer (≥ 1 h) recovery periods can similarly improve CRF, potentially allowing individuals to perform “sprint snacks” throughout the day to gain health benefits.

Methods

Healthy, young, inactive adults (~ 22 years, peak oxygen uptake [VO2peak] ~ 35 ml kg− 1 min− 1) were randomly assigned to one of two groups and performed 18 training sessions over 6 wks. Sprint snacks (SS) involved 3 × 20-s ‘all out’ cycling bouts separated by 1–4-h rest (n = 12, 7 females). Traditional SIT involved 3 × 20-s bouts interspersed with 3-min rest within a 10-min training session (n = 16, 7 females). The primary outcome was CRF determined by a VO2peak test conducted before and after training. Secondary outcomes included a 150 kJ cycling time trial and exercise enjoyment.

Results

Absolute VO2peak increased by ~ 6% after SIT and ~ 4% for SS (main effect of time P = 0.002) with no difference between groups (group × time interaction, P = 0.52). 150 kJ time trial performance improved by ~ 13% in SIT and ~ 9% in SS (main effect of time, P < 0.001) with no difference between groups (group × time interaction, P = 0.36).

Conclusion

CRF was similarly increased by a protocol involving sprint snacks spread throughout the day and a traditional SIT protocol in which bouts were separated by short recovery periods within a single training session.

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Abbreviations

CIHR:

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

CRF:

Cardiorespiratory fitness

CSEP:

Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology

EES:

Exercise enjoyment scale

HR:

Heart rate

MET:

Metabolic equivalent

NSERC:

Natural Science and Engineering Research Council

PAR:

Physical activity recall

PAR-Q+:

Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire-Plus

RPE:

Ratings of perceived exertion

SIT:

Sprint interval training

SS:

Sprint snacks

VO2 :

Oxygen uptake

VO2peak:

Peak oxygen uptake

W:

Watts

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Acknowledgements

J.P.L. is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Investigator Award (MSH-141980) and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) Scholar Award (16890). M.E.J. is supported by a MSFHR Scholar Award (5917). ML was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Undergraduate Student Research Award. The authors would like to thank all the participants who volunteered their time and effort for this study and the following individuals who assisted in data collection: Lee Gye, Kyle Loney and Charles Zhou.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 1147 Research Road, Kelowna, BC, V1V 1V7, Canada

    Jonathan P. Little, Jodi Langley, Michael Lee, Etienne Myette-Côté, Garett Jackson, Cody Durrer & Mary E. Jung

  2. Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Martin J. Gibala

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  1. Jonathan P. Little
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  2. Jodi Langley
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  3. Michael Lee
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  4. Etienne Myette-Côté
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  5. Garett Jackson
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  6. Cody Durrer
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  7. Martin J. Gibala
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  8. Mary E. Jung
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Contributions

JPL and MJG conceived the study design with assistance from MEJ, JL and EMC. JL, ML, GJ, EMC, and CD collected data, performed statistical analyses, and prepared figures. JPL, JL and ML wrote the first draft of the manuscript with input from all authors. All authors edited and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Jonathan P. Little.

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Communicated by Nicolas Place.

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Little, J.P., Langley, J., Lee, M. et al. Sprint exercise snacks: a novel approach to increase aerobic fitness. Eur J Appl Physiol 119, 1203–1212 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-019-04110-z

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