Healthy 24- and 50 year old males improve peak oxygen consumption and stroke volume equally after 8 weeks of high intensity endurance training

Abstract

Background: With aging, aerobic endurance performance declines and is demonstrated by a reduction in maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). Although this decrease is influenced to some degree by the state of health and age, it seems that maintenance of regular physical activity significantly counteracts the loss of aerobic endurance. In truth, high-intensity endurance training improves VO2max in healthy individuals of all ages. Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to investigate if two groups of males, age 24 and 60 respectively, would change VO2peak equally after 8 weeks of high intensity training when they initially were matched on VO2peak. Methods: Both groups received supervised training 3 times a week for 8 weeks. The training comprised of 8 weeks of high-intensity interval cycling on a stationary bicycle. The training sessions consisted of 4 x 4 minute intervals at 90% to 95% of HRpeak, with 3-minute active rest periods at approximately 70% of HRpeak between each interval. Results: The sixty year old males experienced similar training responses judged against their younger counterparts improving VO2peak with 7, 3% compared to 10, 8%. Conclusions: When matched on VO2peak at onset, two groups of 24- and 60 year old males change their VO2peak equally after 8 weeks of high intensity endurance training.