An interventional study of Sprint Interval Training with 60-Second Recovery (SIT10:1) and Sprint Interval Training with 240-Second Recovery (SIT10:4) in Exercise-Induced Physiological Adaptations, sponsored by Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport. Completed at 1 site in Poland. Open to male participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-09.
Sponsored by Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
This study investigated the effects of different high-intensity interval training protocols on physical fitness and physiological adaptations in healthy young men.
Participants underwent a two-week exercise training program consisting of six sessions performed three times per week. Four training protocols were investigated, differing in exercise intensity, duration of exercise bouts, and recovery periods.
The primary outcome was the change in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), an indicator of aerobic fitness. Additional assessments included cognitive performance, measured using tests of attention, processing speed, and inhibitory control, as well as selected physiological and skeletal muscle adaptations.
The study aimed to improve understanding of how different high-intensity interval training protocols influence aerobic fitness and other physiological responses over a short training period.
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and sprint interval training (SIT) are exercise strategies characterized by repeated bouts of vigorous or maximal exercise interspersed with recovery periods. These training approaches may induce physiological adaptations within relatively short intervention periods. However, the effects of different combinations of exercise duration, intensity, and recovery time on aerobic fitness, cognitive performance, and skeletal muscle adaptations require further investigation.
This interventional study examined physiological responses to four cycling-based high-intensity training protocols in healthy young men. Participants completed six training sessions over two weeks, with three sessions performed each week.
The investigated protocols included:
SIT10:1: Repeated 10-second maximal cycling sprints separated by 60-second recovery periods.
SIT10:4: Repeated 10-second maximal cycling sprints separated by 240-second recovery periods.
HIIT90:180: Six 90-second cycling intervals performed at 80% of maximal aerobic power, separated by 180-second passive recovery periods.
Wingate-SIT: Repeated 30-second all-out cycling sprints using a Wingate-based protocol.
The primary outcome was the change in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), assessed using incremental exercise testing before and after the intervention. Additional assessments included cognitive performance using the Stroop Color-Word Test, Trail Making Test, and Digit Span Test, as well as selected measures of exercise performance and skeletal muscle metabolic adaptations.
Skeletal muscle biopsies were collected from subsets of participants before and after training to investigate exercise-induced adaptations in muscle tissue. Stored biopsy samples were subsequently used for exploratory proteomic analyses.
The study was designed to characterize short-term physiological and skeletal muscle responses to different high-intensity interval exercise protocols.
Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport is the lead sponsor of 37 studies on the registry; 11 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
Healthy adult males. Physically active individuals. Ability to perform high-intensity cycling exercise. Willingness to participate in the two-week training intervention and complete the required assessments.
Provision of written .
Exclusion Criteria:
Known cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, or neurological disorders that could affect exercise performance or participant safety.
Musculoskeletal injuries or conditions preventing participation in high-intensity cycling exercise.
Medical to maximal exercise testing or sprint interval training.
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.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
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.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants completed a two-week cycling sprint interval training program comprising six sessions (three sessions per week). The protocol involved repeated 10-second maximal cycling sprints separated by 60-second recovery intervals.
Behavioral: Sprint Interval Training with 60-Second Recovery (SIT10:1)
Participants completed a two-week cycling sprint interval training program comprising six sessions (three sessions per week). The protocol involved repeated 10-second maximal cycling sprints separated by 240-second recovery intervals.
Behavioral: Sprint Interval Training with 240-Second Recovery (SIT10:4)
Participants completed a two-week high-intensity interval cycling program consisting of six supervised training sessions (three sessions per week). Each session included six 90-second cycling bouts performed at 80% of maximal aerobic power, separated by 180-second passive recovery intervals. Exercise cadence was maintained at approximately 60 revolutions per minute.
Behavioral: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT90:180)
Participants completed a two-week sprint interval training program comprising six cycling sessions (three sessions per week). The intervention consisted of repeated 30-second all-out cycling sprints performed using a Wingate-based protocol, with recovery periods between successive efforts.
Behavioral: Wingate-Based Sprint Interval Training (Wingate-SIT)
A two-week cycling sprint interval training intervention consisting of six sessions performed three times per week. Participants performed repeated 10-second maximal cycling sprints interspersed with 60-second recovery intervals.
A two-week cycling sprint interval training intervention consisting of six sessions performed three times per week. Participants performed repeated 10-second maximal cycling sprints interspersed with 240-second recovery intervals.
A two-week cycling high-intensity interval training intervention comprising six supervised sessions performed three times per week. Each session consisted of six 90-second exercise bouts at 80% of maximal aerobic power, separated by 180-second passive recovery intervals. Cycling cadence was approximately 60 revolutions per minute.
A two-week cycling sprint interval training intervention comprising six sessions performed three times per week. Participants performed repeated 30-second all-out cycling sprints using a Wingate-based protocol, with recovery intervals between successive sprints.
Change in Maximal Oxygen Uptake (VO2max)
Change in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), expressed in mL/kg/min, assessed using an incremental exercise test before and after the two-week training intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and after the 2-week training intervention
Change in Cognitive Performance
Changes in cognitive performance assessed using the Stroop Color-Word Test (inhibitory control), Trail Making Test (processing speed and executive function), and Digit Span Test (working memory), before and after the two-week training intervention.
Time frame: Baseline and after the 2-week training intervention
Change in Skeletal Muscle Oxidative Enzyme Activity
Changes in skeletal muscle oxidative enzyme activity assessed in biopsy samples collected before and after the two-week training intervention. Muscle biopsies were performed in a subset of participants who provided additional informed consent for the procedure.
Time frame: Baseline and after the 2-week training intervention
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be made publicly available due to participant confidentiality considerations and the absence of a data-sharing plan in the original study protocol.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Ran from Feb 2013 to primary completion in Apr 2018, 62 months.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Gdansk University of Physical Education and Sport