According a new study, better results can be achieved by working out in a combined pattern of high and low intensity exercise sessions, rather than moderate and low intensity exercise, reports Medical Xpress.
Health scientists at the Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence conducted a 29-week trial study which included 12 cyclists to find out their best athletic training strength.
"Quantity and quality of training has provided a quandary for coaches and athletes for many years, but this study is the first of its kind to provide an answer to the problem," lead study Dr. Stuart Galloway said, according to a Medical Xpress report.
The group of cyclists was divided into two and was asked to perform at different paces and studied the results. First group of six cyclists performed at 80 percent low and 20 percent high intensity training.
The other group performed at 55 percent low and 45 percent moderate intensity training. Then the groups switched over after a four week rest period. The results showed a significant improvement among the cyclists who performed a combination low and high intensity exercises than the low and moderate intensity training, says the report.
"It is a case of training smarter," Dr. Galloway said. "We found in these cyclists that if you can make the hard sessions harder and the easy sessions easier then you will likely see better progress. Amateur athletes tend to spend a lot of their training in a moderate intensity bracket which in our study showed much smaller improvements.
"For the wider public, most people were advised to do moderate-level intensity exercise for around three hours a week then more recently, high intensity bouts of exercise such as spin cycling classes or interval running have been presented as the best option,"he said. "We would suggest that while high intensity is still important, it's the combination with low intensity which has the biggest impact."
Dr. Angus Hunter, senior lecturer in exercise physiology and co-author on the study, agreed with the study results which show a significant difference of nearly two times better results.
"Muscle fatigue can be detrimental to a successful long-term exercise programme, but our study suggests that a much quicker recovery occurs when adopting the low and high intensity combination," Dr. Hunter said. "Your muscles may be fatigued more quickly when you work at a high intensity, but they recover more quickly too. We understand that for an athlete, their training intensity will vary depending on whether they are building towards a competition or in the off-season, but this study offers a good model to enable you to hit your peak."
The study is published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
