FIVE-WEEK OF HIGH-INTENSITY CONTINUOUS RUNNING OF SHORT EXERCISE DURATION ON RUNNING AND AEROBIC ENDURANCE PERFORMANCES OF MODERATELY TRAINED LEISURE RUNNER: A CASE STUDY
Yahaya Abdullahi1*, Nafeesah Wurno Bello, Talatu AUDU2 & Rafiu OlaOluwa Okuneye3
1 Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
2 Department of Physical and Health Education, Federal College of Education, Zaria – Nigeria
3 Department of Human Kinetics, Sports and Health Education, Lagos State University, Ojo
* Email: yahayaabdullahi@abu.edu.ng
The purpose of this study was to examine the running performance and aerobic endurance following high-intensity continuous running (HICR) of short exercise duration in a moderately trained leisure runner. In this case study, a 42-yr-old moderately trained male leisure runner, with a pre-training relative maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) of 55.8 mL·kg-1·min-1, performed 10 min of HICR (90% to 95% of maximal heart rate (HRmax) 3 times·wk-1, for 5 weeks. Following the training intervention period, time to exhaustion during a ~4 min to ~6 min treadmill ramp test procedure increased by 57 sec (23%), which indicates a substantial improvement in running performance. Velocity at VO2max and velocity at lactate threshold increased by 1.8 km∙hr-1 (13%) and 1.4 km∙hr-1 (14%), correspondingly. Furthermore, the participant increased absolute and relative VO2max by 0.33 L·min-1 (9.5%) and 7.5 mL·kg-1·min-1 (13%), respectively. Oxygen pulse at VO2max increased by 2.1 mL·beat-1 (13%), and submaximal heart rate decreased by 12 beats·min-1 (7.9%), while no notable change in running economy was observed, indicating an upsurge in maximal cardiac stroke volume. Moreover, the results indicated an upsurge in relative fat oxidation from ~36% to ~43% of the total energy turnover, which appeared to be due to the substantial improvement in relative VO2max. It can be concluded that HICR of short exercise duration can be effective in improving running performance and aerobic capacity when the initial aerobic fitness level is moderate.
Keywords: Leisure runner, Maximal oxygen consumption, Time to exhaustion, Velocity at lactate threshold, Velocity at VO2max,
