Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04640883

Effects of Including Sprints During Low-intensity Cycling Exercises on Performance and Muscle/Blood Characteristics

To investigate the effects of Including 30-s sprints during low-intensity cycling exercises during a training camp on performance and muscle/blood characterisitcs in elite cyclists

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Healthy Cyclists

Age range

18 year–40 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences

Lillehammer, Norway

About this study

Inclusion of sprint intervals during low-intensity training (LIT) sessions has been suggested as a potential mean to improve endurance performance in elite cyclists, facilitated by muscular or systemic physiological adaptations. So far, the effects of such training has been studied exclusively in context of short-lasting low-intensity sessions, representing a scenario with suboptimal ecological validity for such highly trained athetes.

This study will investigate the effects of including sprints during prolonged LIT-sessions sessions during a 14-day training camp focusing on LIT, followed by 10 days recovery (REC), on performance and performance-related measures in elite cyclists. During the training camp, a sprint training group will conduct 12x30-s maximal sprints during five LIT sessions, whereas a control group will perform distance-matched LIT-only. Overall, the training camp will lead to substantial increases in training load compared to habitual training in both intervention groups, followed by subsequent reductions during REC. Performance tests will be conducted before the training camp (T0) and after REC (T2). Muscle biopsies, hematological measures and stress/recovery questionnaires will be collected Pre (T0) and after the camp (T1).

The study was pre-registered at Norwegian Center for Research Data (14/08/2017, Norwegian): http://pvo.nsd.no/prosjekt/55322

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • VO2max > 65ml/kg/min

Exclusion criteria

  • VO2max < 65ml/kg/min
  • Average endurance training per week >10hrs/wk during the four weeks leading up to the study

Treatment and study plan

Inclusion of sprints during low-intensity cycling during a 14-day training camp (high training load)

Behavioral

Inclusion of 12x30-s maximal sprints during five low-intensity cycling sessions with long duration (>fours hours per session). Five sessions will be performed as low-intensity cycling-only (Controll sessions, distance matched). All other sessions will be performed as low-intensity sessions and adjusted according to each participants training load goal to reach an increase of ~50% in load compared to habitual training.

Low-intensity cycling during a 14-day training camp (high training load)

Behavioral

Five low-intensity cycling sessions (>four hours per session), distance-matched to sprint group.

Recovery for 10 days (low training load)

Behavioral

Habitual low-intensity cycling (>0.5-2 hours per session)

Primary outcomes

  1. Performance during a 5-minute all-out cycling test

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, after REC)

    Mean power output measured during a 5-minute all-out cycling test performed at the end of a ~2 hour long exercise protocol

Secondary outcomes

  1. Sprint performance

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, after REC)

    Mean power output measured during four consecutive 30-s maximal sprints

  2. Maximal oxygen uptake

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Maximal oxygen consumption measured during an incremental cycling exercise test to exhaustion

  3. Maximal aerobic power output

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Maximal aerobic power output measured as mean power output during the last minute of an incremental cycling exercise test to exhaustion

  4. Gross efficiency (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Contribution of total energy turnover to power output in the fresh and fatigued state incremental cycling exercise test (with 5 minute steps)

  5. Gross efficiency (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Contribution of total energy turnover to power output in the fresh and fatigued state incremental cycling exercise test (with 5 minute steps)

  6. Power output at lactate threshold (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Power output at 4 mmol blood lactate concentration measured during an incremental cycling exercise test (with 5 minute steps)

  7. Power output at lactate threshold (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Power output at 4 mmol blood lactate concentration measured during an incremental cycling exercise test (with 5 minute steps)

  8. Fractional utilization of VO2max (incremental test)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Fractional utilization of VO2max measured at 4 mmol blood lactate concentrations measured during an incremental cycling exercise test (with 5 minute steps)

  9. Fractional utilization of VO2max (5-min test)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Fractional utilization of VO2max measured during the 5-min test

  10. Protein abundance in skeletal muscle

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Protein abundances in m. vastus lateralis measured using western blotting

  11. Haemoglobin mass (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Hemoglobin mass measured using CO rebreathing (g)

  12. Haemoglobin mass (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Hemoglobin mass measured using CO rebreathing (g)

  13. Blood volume (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Blood volume measured using CO rebreathing

  14. Blood volume (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Blood volume measured using CO rebreathing

  15. Plasma volume (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Plasma volume measured using CO rebreathing

  16. Plasma volume (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Plasma volume measured using CO rebreathing

  17. Red blood cell volume (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Red blood cell volume measured using CO rebreathing

  18. Red blood cell volume (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Red blood cell volume measured using CO rebreathing

  19. Mean corposcular volume (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Mean corposcular volume measured using CO rebreathing

  20. Mean corposcular volume (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Mean corposcular volume measured using CO rebreathing

  21. Hematocrit (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Hematocrit measured using centrifugation

  22. Hematocrit (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Hematocrit measured using centrifugation

  23. Body mass (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Body mass (kg) measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

  24. Body mass (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Body mass (kg) measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

  25. Enzyme activity in skeletal muscle

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Enzyme activity in m. vastus lateralis measured using ELISA kits (I.e., CS and PFK)

  26. Lean body mass (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Lean body mass (kg) measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

  27. Lean body mass (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Lean body mass (kg) measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

  28. Fat mass (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Fat mass (kg) measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

  29. Fat mass (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Fat mass (kg) measured using Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

  30. Session rate of percieved exertion

    Time frame: Throughout the training camp (14 days)

    Session rate of percieved exertion (sRPE) measured after each exercise involving sprints/control exercise using a 9-point scale ranging from "very, very demotivated" to "very, very motivated" (1 to 9)

  31. Stress-recovery state (training camp)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the training camp (T1)

    Recovery state of participants measured using Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-36-R-Sport, 36 questions, 7-point scale ranging from 0/never to 6/always)

  32. Stress-recovery state (recovery/REC)

    Time frame: Changes from before the intervention (T0) to immediately after the intervention (T2, i.e. after REC)

    Recovery state of participants measured using Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-36-R-Sport, 36 questions, 7-point scale ranging from 0/never to 6/always)

Other outcomes

  1. Training load

    Time frame: From four weeks prior to the intervention and throughout the study, an average of 52 days

    Training load calculated as time spent in different heart rate zones using the individualized TRIMP method

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of Including 30-s Sprints During Low-intensity Cycling Exercises During a Training Camp on Performance and Muscle/Blood Characterisitcs

Important dates

Study start
2017
Primary completion
2017
Study completion
2017
First posted
Nov 23, 2020
Registry last updated
Nov 23, 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.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.