DEVELOPMENT OF AEROBIC CAPACITY - COMPARISON OF CONTINUOUS AND INTERVAL TRAINING

Untrained college males were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups or a control group. There were five, seven, and nine subjects in the control, interval, and continuous groups, respectively. Training consisted of jogging or running on a quarter-mile track for a distance of 2 miles, 5 days a week for 6 weeks. The continuous group trained at an intensity of 162 beats per minute (bpm), while the interval group trained at 174 bpm. A minimum of three 4-minute work intervals and a work/rest ratio of 1:1 were utilized by the interval group. Significant (p `.01) within-group (pre- versus posttraining) differences were found in the experimental groups for oxygen uptake (ml/kg·minute) at 180 bpm and Balke treadmill performance. Analysis of covariance demonstrated significant (p `.05) differences in aerobic capacity and treadmill performance among groups. Post hoc comparisons revealed significant (p `.05) differences between the control group and each experimental group. No significant differences were found between experimental groups. It was concluded that continuous and interval training methods were equally effective in developing endurance when the same total work is performed. © 1979 Taylor 8 Francis Group, LLC.