An interventional study of High-intensity interval training and Moderate-intensity continuous training in Exercise, sponsored by Universidad de Colima. Not yet recruiting. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 21 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-09.
Sponsored by Universidad de Colima · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
This study will use a randomized, double-blind clinical trial to evaluate the effects of eight-week HIIT and MICT exercise programs on cardiorespiratory fitness, the testosterone/cortisol ratio, and mental health in 68 healthy, moderately active young adults aged 18 to 21. Participants will be assigned to parallel groups based on their sex and training type (HIIT men, HIIT women, MICT men, MICT women). The key metrics will be measured both before and after the intervention period to assess the impact of the different training regimens.
This randomized, double-blind clinical trial will investigate the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) versus moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on cardiorespiratory fitness and symptoms of anxiety and depression in high school students.
The study will recruit 68 male and female students, aged 15-19, who are moderately inactive. Participants will be randomized into HIIT or MICT groups, stratified by gender. The 8-week intervention consists of three weekly sessions: HIIT involves 10x1-minute high-intensity intervals, while MICT consists of 30 minutes of continuous running. Cardiorespiratory fitness (measured via the Course Navette test to estimate VO₂max) and mental health symptoms (using Beck inventories) will be assessed before and after the intervention.
The primary hypothesis is that HIIT will yield greater improvements in VO₂max and greater reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms compared to MICT. Statistical analysis will employ ANOVA and related tests to evaluate changes within and between groups, with a significance level set at p\<0.05. The study aims to provide evidence for designing personalized exercise programs that optimize both physical and mental health in adolescents.
9,798 studies on the registry are indexed under Motor Activity; 1,910 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 76 is above the median of 60 across 8,388 interventional studies indexed under Motor Activity.
Browse Motor Activity studies →Universidad de Colima is the lead sponsor of 12 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.
Compared within Motor Activity, the registry's first condition term, which may not be this study's main condition. Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion criteria:
Elimination criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions will consist of continuous running for a 5-minute warm-up at 75% of maximum heart rate (HRmax), followed by 10 repetitions of intermittent running in 1-minute intervals at 85-90% of HRmax, intercalated with 1-minute recovery periods at 50-60% of HRmax. There will be 3 sessions per week (75-minute weekly training). All HIIT intervention sessions end with a cool-down walk and stretching.
Other: High-intensity interval training
Moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) sessions will consist of running continuously for 30 minutes at an intensity of 60-70% of HRmax, with a frequency of 3 sessions per week (60 minutes of training per week). All sessions with MICT intervention end with a cool-down walk and stretching.
Other: Moderate-intensity continuous training
The intervention involves physical exercise with the aim of observing any changes that may occur in mental health and hormonal parameters. However, the magnitude of these effects and the type of exercise that is most effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression are still unknown.
The intervention involves physical exercise with the aim of observing any changes that may occur in mental health and hormonal parameters. However, the magnitude of these effects and the type of exercise that is most effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression are still unknown.
Symptoms of anxiety from baseline to eight weeks.
The measurement of anxiety symptoms will be conducted using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in printed format, which is a validated psychological tool used to assess the severity of anxiety symptoms in adults. The total score is interpreted on a scale from 0 to 63, where a score of 0 indicates the absence of anxiety symptoms, and higher scores reflect increasing levels of anxiety, with the upper values representing severe anxiety.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8 of training.
Symptoms of depression from baseline to eight weeks.
The measurement of depression symptoms will be conducted using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in printed format, which is a validated psychological tool used to assess the severity of depression symptoms in adults. The total score is interpreted on a scale from 0 to 63, where a score of 0 indicates the absence of depression symptoms, and higher scores reflect increasing levels of depression, with the upper values representing severe depression.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8 of training.
Testosterone levels using the ELISA method
Testosterone and cortisol levels will also be determined in picograms per milliliter (pg/mL) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, which is employed to quantify hormones, cytokines, and other proteins in blood or other biological fluids.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8 of training.
Cortisol levels using the ELISA method
Cortisol levels will also be determined in picograms per milliliter (pg/mL) using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method, which is employed to quantify hormones, cytokines, and other proteins in blood or other biological fluids.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8 of training.
Cardiorespiratory capacity using VO₂max
Cardiorespiratory capacity will be assessed using the 20-meter run test, with maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max), expressed in millilitres per minute per kilogram (mL/kg/min), as the main indicator. The test consists of running back and forth between two points separated by 20 meters, following a pace dictated by auditory signals; as the test progresses, the running speed gradually increases.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8 of training.
No study locations are listed for this record.
Plan to share: Yes — the plan to share information with other researchers through the publication of different articles that can be extracted from the research
Supporting information: Study protocol, Informed consent form
Time frame: The information will be available as of August 2026
Access criteria: To have access to these data, other researchers must be performing the same methodological design, so there is no point in sharing it with a different study design
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Feb 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Universidad de Colima