Efficacy of a Six-Week Dispersed Wingate-Cycle Training Protocol on Peak Aerobic Power, Leg Strength, Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Lipids and Quality of Life in Healthy Adults

Background : The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a six-week dispersed Wingate Anaerobic test (WAnT) cycle exercise training protocol on peak aerobic power (VO 2peak ), isokinetic leg strength, insulin sensitivity, lipid profile and quality of life, in healthy adults. Methods : We conducted a match-controlled cohort trial and participants were assigned to either the training (intervention, INT, N = 16) or non-training (control, CON, N = 17) group. INT performed 30-s WAnT bouts three times a day in the morning, afternoon and evening with each bout separated by ~4 h of rest, performed for 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Criterion measures of peak oxygen uptake (VO 2peak ), leg strength, insulin markers such as homeostatic model assessment (HOMA) and quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index (QUICKI), blood lipids profile and health-related quality of life (HRQL) survey were assessed before and after 6 weeks in both groups. Results : Absolute VO 2peak increased by 8.3 ± 7.0% ( p < 0.001) after INT vs. 0.9 ± 6.1% in CON ( p = 0.41) group. Maximal voluntary contraction at 30°·s −1 of the dominant lower-limb flexors in INT increased significantly post-training ( p = 0.03). There were no changes in the INT individuals’ other cardiorespiratory markers, HOMA, QUICKI, blood lipids, and HRQL measures (all p > 0.05) between pre- and post-training; but importantly, no differences were observed between INT and CON groups (all p > 0.05). Conclusions : The results indicate that 6 weeks of dispersed sprint cycle training increased cardiorespiratory fitness and dynamic leg strength but had minimal impact on insulin sensitivity, blood lipids and quality of life in the exercising individuals.