ORIGINAL ARTICLE Gil Rodas á Josep L. Ventura á Joan A. Cadefau RoserCusso á Joan Parra A short training programme for the rapid improvement of both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism Accepted: 30 March 2000 Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in aerobic and anaerobic metabolism produced by a newly devised short training programme. Five young male volunteers trained daily for 2 weeks on a cycle ergometer. Sessions consisted of 15-s all-out repe- titions with 45-s rest periods, plus 30-s all-out repetitions with 12-min rest periods. The number of repetitions was gradually increased up to a maximum of seven. Biopsy samples of the vastus lateralis muscle were taken before and after training. Performance changes were evaluated by two tests, a 30-s all-out test and a maximal progres- sive test. Signi®cant increases in phosphocreatine 31%) and glycogen 32%) were found at the end of training. In addition, a signi®cant increase was observed in the muscle activity of creatine kinase 44%), phospho- fructokinase 106%), lactate dehydrogenase 45%), 3-hydroxy-acyl-CoA dehydrogenase 60%) and citrate synthase 38%). After training, performance of the 30-s all-out test did not increase signi®cantly, while in the maximal progressive test, the maximum oxygen consumption increased from mean SD) 57.3 2.6) ml á min )1 á kg )1 to 63.8 3.0) ml á min )1 á kg )1 , and the maximum load from 300 11) W to 330 21) W; all changes were signi®cant. In conclusion, this new protocol, which utilises short durations, high loads and long recovery periods, seems to be an eective pro- gramme for improving the enzymatic activities of the energetic pathways in a short period of time. Key words Human skeletal muscle á Oxidative enzymes á Oxygen uptake á Anaerobic performance á Lactate Introduction Exercise-induced muscle changes can be modulated by the structure of a training programme Abernethy et al. 1990). An endurance protocol produces major adapta- tions in aerobic metabolism via oxidative enzymes, oxygen uptake  _ V O 2 ) and performance of endurance tests Henriksson 1996), while sprint training increases the concentration of energetic substrates and the activity of anaerobic-metabolism-related enzymes Thorstensson et al. 1975; Roberts et al. 1982; Cadefau et al. 1990). However, in most cases, the goal of athletic preparation is to improve a subject's aerobic and anaerobic char- acteristics. Usually, an initial endurance phase is un- dertaken, followed by a second phase of high-intensity or sprint training. Training programmes that are capa- ble of increasing aerobic or anaerobic metabolism with continuous exercise or interval training) are based mainly on periods of at least 6 weeks Costill et al. 1979; Jacobs et al. 1987), although there are shorter pro- grammes lasting no more than 1 week. Such pro- grammes are usually based on continuous endurance training, which produces some metabolic and haemo- dynamic changes, but which do not improve perfor- mance, increase the maximum oxygen consumption  _ V O 2max ) or produce great enzymatic changes Green et al. 1992; Cadefau et al. 1994; Phillips et al. 1996; Shoemaker et al. 1996). Often, however, athletes require a training pro- gramme in order to achieve ®tness in a short period of time, particularly after periods of inactivity due to in- jury, illness or personal problems, or when it is necessary to make sudden changes in the training schedule. In these cases, cycle ergometer training has several advan- tages: the lower cost and size of the equipment required, the large number of muscles involved, the easy and Eur J Appl Physiol 2000) 82: 480±486 Ó Springer-Verlag 2000 J. L. Ventura á J. A. Cadefau á R. Cusso á J. Parra &) Departamento de Ciencias Fisiologicas, Institut d'Investigacions BiomeÁdiques August Pi i Sunyer IDIBAPS), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Barcelona, C/ Casanova 143, 08036 Barcelona, Spain e-mail: jparra@medicina.ub.es Tel.: +34-93-4021919; Fax: +34-93-4035260 G. Rodas Centre d'Estudis d'Alt Rendiment Esportiu CEARE), Secretaria General de l'Esport, 08950 Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain