CARDIOVASCULAR-RESPONSE TO INTERVAL AND CONTINUOUS TRAINING IN WOMEN

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 Cao2-C-vo2 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 Qc. These results indicated that, in response to high intensity training, women may demonstrate similar cardiovascular adaptations to training as have been observed for men. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.