Performance and Recovery of Well-Trained Younger and Older Athletes during Different HIIT Protocols
Question
Do younger and older well-trained athletes with comparable fitness recover differently during repeated 30-second Wingate HIIT protocols with different active recovery durations?
Summary
In 12 younger and 12 older well-trained cyclists and triathletes with comparable relative fitness, three randomized repeated-Wingate HIIT sessions with 1, 3, or 10 minutes active recovery produced similar metabolic, cardiovascular, and subjective recovery patterns between age groups. Longer recovery reduced fatigue and perceived exertion and improved perceived recovery.
Methodology
- Well-trained younger and older cyclists and triathletes.
- 24 participants.
- Cycle ergometry.
- Work intervals: 30 seconds maximal Wingate.
- Recovery: 1, 3, or 10 minutes active recovery.
- Intensity: Maximal all-out.
- About 25.5-52.5 minutes including warmup/cooldown depending on recovery duration.
- Three laboratory sessions separated by one week.
- Three acute protocol visits.
- Randomized order repeated-measures laboratory study
- Power, Metabolic recovery, and Perceived recovery were tracked.
Outcomes
Age recovery
Younger and older athletes recovered similarly across metabolic, cardiovascular, and subjective measures.
Between-age differences p>0.05 for average lactate, power, fatigue, %HRmax, RER, RPE, and TQR
Rest duration
Longer recovery reduced RPE and increased perceived recovery.
RPE and TQR differed across recovery durations, often p<0.001
Power decline
Performance decline was greatest with 1-minute recovery.
Recovery-duration main effect F(2,44)=63.59, p<0.001
Insights
- When maintaining power is the goal, longer active recovery is useful.
- Comparable fitness may matter more than age for recovery in trained adults up to about 50.
- All-out Wingate protocols are not entry-level HIIT.
Limitations
- Small athlete sample.
- Men and women analyzed together.
- Female menstrual-cycle phase not standardized.
- Older group was middle-aged rather than elderly.
- Only active recovery and 30-second Wingates were studied.
Safety
- Adverse events and injuries were not reported.
- Participants were well-trained athletes tested under standardized lab conditions with HR, gas exchange, lactate, RPE, and recovery monitoring.
- The protocol used maximal Wingate efforts and should be considered advanced.