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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03155152

Decremental Exercise: a New Training Approach?

Different types of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions are used by athletes in order to improve their physical performance, but innovative approaches to training are lacking. Therefore, in Part A of this study the physiological response to a standard HIIT and a new decremental exercise training (DECT) will be compared in runners and cyclists. Next, in Part B the training effects of a 4-week block of the HIIT and DECT will be compared.

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Key information

Conditions

Exercise Performance of Fit Athletes

Age range

18 year–40 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Exercise Physiology Lab, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zurich

Zurich, Canton of Zurich, 8057, Switzerland

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age: 18-40 years
  • Healthy, i.e. normal physical and mental status (not taking any medication on a regular basis for more than a month, except contraceptive medication)
  • Normal Body-Mass-Index (BMI): 18.5-24.9 kg·m-2
  • Well-trained athletes: V̇O2max > 55.1 ml·min-1·kg-1 for men and > 50.1 ml·min-1·kg-1 for women
  • Normal lung function
  • Non-smoking
  • Willing to adhere to the general study rules

Exclusion criteria

  • Women who are pregnant or breast feeding
  • Intention to become pregnant during the course of the study
  • Known or suspected non-compliance, drug or alcohol abuse
  • Inability to follow the procedures of the study, e.g. due to language problems, psychological disorders, dementia, etc. of the participant
  • Previous enrolment into the same part (A or B) of the current study
  • Enrolment of the investigator, his/her family members, employees and other dependent persons
  • Acute or chronic illness
  • Intake of medications affecting performance or the respiratory, cardiovascular or neuromuscular system
  • Insufficient training history (<3 yrs of participation in competitive cycling/running) or training volume (<40 km running/week or 150 km cycling/week) in the previous 6 months
  • Recent (<3 months) history of orthopaedic injury or participation in structured high-intensity training blocks

Treatment and study plan

DECT

Other

The DECT program consists of a 4-week training intervention with three weekly sessions of high-intensity interval training, in which during each exercise bout the workload is imposed in a decremental fashion.

HIIT

Other

The HIIT program consists of a 4-week training intervention with three weekly sessions of high-intensity interval training, in which during each exercise bout the workload is kept constant.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in exercise performance

    Time frame: measured before and after the 4-week training block, during a time-trial (40 km cycling or 10 km running)

    Time taken to cover a fixed distance, in minutes

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in maximal oxygen uptake

    Time frame: Measured during a maximal incremental exercise test before and after the 4-week training block

    Measured in ml/kg/min

  2. Average oxygen uptake

    Time frame: The two training session are performed within one week

    Average oxygen uptake measured during the four 4-min bouts of high-intensity exercise of a session of HIIT and DECT

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Decremental Exercise Protocol as a Training Stimulus: More or Less Efficient Than Traditional High-intensity Interval Training?

Important dates

Study start
2017
Primary completion
2019
Study completion
2019
First posted
May 16, 2017
Registry last updated
Mar 18, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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