Overend, T., Paterson, D., Cunningham, D., & Taylor, A. (October, 1985). Interval and continuous training: A comparison of training effects. A paper given at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Sports Sciences, Laval University, Quebec.

Young males using the same average power output to control for amount of work done, were tested under two conditions of workload distribution. Training lasted for 10 weeks, was performed four times per week for 40 min duration.

• Continuous training consisted of working at 80% of VO2max.
• Lower power interval training consisted of alternating 3 min at 100% of VO2max with 2 min at 50%.
• High power interval training consisted of alternating 30 s at 120% of VO2max at 120% with 30 s at 40%.

All training results were similar. There were no differences in training effects between the groups.

Implication. In accordance with the non-differentiated physiological responses of growing adolescents, no particular physiological or training effects were detectable with traditional measures under three very different forms of training. It is likely that a general program will produce the same adaptive responses as would a specialized program in this population.

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