The Effects of Intensity, Duration and Frequency of Effort on Maximum Aerobic Power Output

Summary. The effects of various regimes of bicycle ergometer exercise varying in intensity, duration and frequency of effort on directly measured maximum aerobic power (1702 max) have been studied on 28 healthy male subjects aged 18--38 years. Analysis of the results showed that the two most important factors in training the [?02 max were intensity and duration; these parameters being interdependent. No subject who trained at or below 500/o of l?oz max showed an improvement in his maximum aerobic power output. Even at the highest intensities and longest durations of effort the improvement in I?o2 max was quite small (1--9 ml/kg/.min). The responses to submaximal work mirrored in part these changes: VO2 and VE for a given work load remained constant whereas cardiac frequency (/I-I) decreased after training. It would seem that in order to effect an improvement in [703 max an individual must be prepared to work at or close to his maximum for prolonged periods of time; even then the improvement may be disappointingly small.