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Cardiovascular response to interval and continuous training in women

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Summary

Three groups of five women (age = 18–25 years) participated in a 12-week training program. Cardiovascular responses up to 85% VO2 max to interval (ITG) and continuous (CTG) training were studied in two groups, before training and after 4, 8, and 12 weeks of training four times per week. A control group was assessed before and after 6 and 12 weeks. Both exercise groups demonstrated significant increases in Ca o2C¯v o2 after 8 weeks with only slight further increases after 12 weeks (CTG=8.9%, ITG=20.0% at 85% VO2 max). No significant changes were noted in either group in SV (+ 5 ml ITG, + 9 ml CTG) or in their Q c. These results indicated that, in response to high intensity training, women may demonstrate similar cardiovascular adaptations to training as have been observed for men.

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Supported by the Ontario Exercise-Heart Collaborative Study, a grant from the Ontario Department of Health — “Project No. 263”. Principal Investigators at the University of Western Ontario include Doctors C. Buck, D. A. Cunningham, P. A. Rechnitzer, and M. S. Yuhasz

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Cunningham, D.A., McCrimmon, D. & Vlach, L.F. Cardiovascular response to interval and continuous training in women. Europ. J. Appl. Physiol. 41, 187–197 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00430011

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