PMID 33451086

Research
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The Effect of Eight-Week Sprint Interval Training on Aerobic Performance of Elite Badminton Players

Liu H, Leng B, Li Q, Liu Y, Bao D, Cui Y

Question

Does 8 weeks of sprint interval training improve aerobic capacity and aerobic recovery in elite badminton players more than traditional aerobic training?

Summary

In 32 elite badminton players, an 8-week program with two weekly cycling SIT sessions and one badminton-specific multi-ball SIT session improved Yo-Yo IR2 distance, VO2max, ventilatory threshold, and lactate clearance more than two Fartlek runs plus one regular multi-ball session. The evidence is athlete-specific and used supervised sport training rather than a general fitness protocol.

Methodology

  • Elite male and female badminton players.
  • 32 participants.
  • Cycling plus badminton multi-ball.
  • Work intervals: 30 s.
  • Recovery: 5 min between cycling/multi-ball groups; 8 min between multi-ball rounds.
  • Intensity: Cycling full force at 0.075/kg body weight; multi-ball >90% HRmax.
  • Not fully reported; weekly effective training time 19.8 +/- 3.0 min.
  • 3 sessions/week.
  • 8 weeks.
  • Randomized controlled training study
  • Yo-Yo IR2, VO2max, Ventilatory threshold, and Lactate clearance were tracked.

Outcomes

Yo-Yo IR2

Male and female SIT groups improved Yo-Yo IR2 distance more than controls.

Male-SIT 1083.0 +/- 205.8 to 1217.5 +/- 190.5 m; Female-SIT 725 +/- 132.9 to 840 +/- 126.5 m; p<0.05 within and versus controls.

Improved

VO2max

VO2max increased in both SIT groups and exceeded control changes.

Male-SIT 56.8 +/- 7.0 to 63.6 +/- 4.7; Female-SIT 42.5 +/- 2.9 to 46.2 +/- 3.0; p<0.05 within and between; ES 1.14 and 1.28.

Improved

Ventilatory threshold

VT-VO2 and VT/VO2max improved in SIT groups more than controls.

Male VT-VO2 3088.4 +/- 450.9 to 3665.3 +/- 263.5; Female 1940.1 +/- 112.9 to 2176.9 +/- 78.6; p<0.05.

Improved

Lactate clearance

Ten-minute lactate clearance improved in both SIT groups versus controls.

Male-SIT 13 +/- 3% to 21 +/- 4%, p<0.05; Female-SIT 21 +/- 5% to 27 +/- 4%, p<0.05.

Improved

Insights

  • Intermittent-sport athletes may benefit from combining ergometer SIT with sport-specific high-intensity drills.
  • SIT produced higher high-intensity load with less total effective training time than control.
  • HR monitoring helps verify that sport-specific interval drills reach intended intensity.

Limitations

  • Elite athlete sample with small subgroups.
  • Technical and tactical outcomes were not measured.
  • Other concurrent training qualities were not isolated.
  • Blood oxygen saturation was not measured.
  • Adverse events were not explicitly reported.

Safety

  • Intervention adverse events were not reported.
  • Participants had no severe injuries in the prior 6 months.