Respuesta fisiológica, neuromuscular y biomecánica al entrenamiento intermitente de alta intensidad en atletas de fondo

Abstract

The main objective of this PhD Thesis was to determine from a multidisciplinary perspective (physiological, neuromuscular and biomechanical) the acute effect of different high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT) protocols in endurance athletes and, to determine its effectiveness as a HIIT-based training programme. Nine papers were written: i) A systematic review, ii) Three about the acute effect of a typical HIIT protocol for these athletes, iii) Three about the comparison between that typical HIIT and a new HIIT protocol; iv) Two about a HIIT-based training programme. These findings highlight the importance of HIIT as a training method for endurance runners that leads to a reduction in weekly running distances (risk factor for lower extremity running injuries) and an increase in mean running intensity (deeply associated to running performance) without impairing the neuromuscular performance nor running kinematic characteristics.