High intensity interval training effects in moderately trained athletes: triathlon training implications

Abstract

This PhD project is submitted on the basis of article compilation. The introduction, chapter 1, reviews what is currently known on the topic, summarising the main triathlete characteristics and the physiological effects of a high intensity interval program on triathletes obtained from the scientific literature. Followed by chapter 2 where the PhD goals and hypothesis are displayed. The following chapter 3 describes the methodology used in each article and chapter 4 presents the main results and discussion. All references cited in the document are located in chapter 5. The principal dissertation conclusions are expounded in chapter 6 followed by practical applications to these conclusions (chapter 7), research limitations (chapter 8) and future directions for investigation (chapter 9). In Chapter 10, appendixes, the reader can find the three published articles indexed in JCR or Scopus journals. The first and the second article were published in the Spanish language, whereas the third publication was in English language. Each article maintains their own citation style and bibliography according to each journal requirements, however, the remaining thesis format has been standardised to provide document unity and homogeneity. The articles followed a similar investigation line, focusing on the physiological characteristics of moderately trained triathletes and their responses to the High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT) stimulus. The first article, «El triatlón y el control de la carga mediante la percepción del esfuerzo» focused on the analysis of the commonly used methods to quantify training load in triathlon, describing the principal physiological and performance parameters involved. This work was published by Archivos de Medicina del Deporte, the official sport medicine journal of Spain. The second study, «Diferencias entre triatletas masculinos y femeninos en las respuestas fisiológicas de un test máximo incremental y una competición simulada» analyses the physiological and performance differences between gender during a cycleergometer maximal incremental test and cycling and running portions of a simulated sprint triathlon in the laboratory. This paper was published by Revista Iberoamericana de Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte. The last article, the study «Comparison of Reduced-volume highintensity interval training and high-volume training on endurance performance in triathletes» observes triathletes physiological and performance responses after 4-weeks of a reduced volume training program supplemented by cycle HIIT sessions. This study was published in the Intenational Journal of Sport Performance and Physiology. After published articles, other scientific contributions are also included such as information of publications, Ethics commite, grants and scholarships, international meeting participations and other type of publications, parallel research and academical activities and research images.