Continuous and interval training both raise VO₂max by about 5 mL/kg/min, with intervals slightly ahead
Are intervals or steady cardio better for VO₂max?
The finding
Against no exercise, endurance training raised VO₂max by 4.9 (±1.4) mL/kg/min and interval training by 5.5 (±1.2). Intervals beat endurance by 1.2 (±0.9).
- Authors
- Milanović Z, Sporiš G, Weston M
- Published
- Sports Medicine 45(10):1469–1481 · 2015
- Evidence
- Read in the primary source; numbers checked.
- Source
- doi.org/10.1007/s40279-015-0365-0
How it was studied
28 controlled trials, 723 healthy adults aged 18–45 (mean age 25, baseline VO₂max 40.8).
What it does not show
Young adults, short trials, and magnitude-based inference statistics.
What Longstanding does with it
When VO₂max is behind the line, the app’s cue is one interval session a week (4 × 4 minutes hard) on top of steady work. The trials say either kind of work moves it.