Effect of high intensity activity on children's aerobic power

Abstract

Several studies in recent years have reported significant fitness improvements in children after exercise interventions, given sufficient training intensity, frequency and duration. However the knowledge of how fast children respond to exercise is limited and most research protocols are performed on cycle ergometers or other training devices using exercise programs are not applicable for practical purposes such as children’s sports programs or physical education classes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high intensity aerobic activity in five weeks, two sessions per week, on children’s VO2peak. Additionally we wanted to test whether ten-year old boys were able to sustain intensity over 80 % of reart ratepeak (HRpeak) for a relative long period of time (up to 4 minutes), using aerobic games and play. Results from the present study showed a significant increase in VO2peak from 178.5 (± 12.6) ml x kg-0.67 x min-1 to188.4 (± 12.6) ml x kg-0.67 x min-1). Conclusion: Children can increase their VO2peak after five weeks of exercise with two high intensity sessions per week. This study also revealed that children can exercise near their HRpeak in time periods lasting up to four minutes.