Defining Different Types of Interval Training: Do we need to use more specific terminology?

Abstract

Interval training began gaining popularity in modern society throughout the mid 1900’s when track and field athletes started to incorporate them regularly into training programs. Soon after, Christensen, et al. published a study with a sample size of two concluding that “Research on intermittent work may open up a new field in work physiology”1 and in 1968 The Science of Swimming written by James Counsilman strongly advocated the use of sprints in training to optimize performance.2 This new found interest had peaked the curiosity of exercise physiologists and as a result a number of studies in the 1970’s utilized higher intensity intervals as training protocols. The consensus was that training intensity was a powerful tool to induce significant positive adaptations.