Interaction of test protocol and horizontal run training on maximal oxygen uptake.

Twenty-seven untrained college-age males (mean age = 23.1 yr) volunteered for this 12-wk training study, which investigated potential interactions between training specificity and treadmill protocol specificity. The study was designed to analyze the interaction between a subject's maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) on an inclined protocol (IP) vs a horizontal protocol (HP) before and after training exclusively on flat terrain. Experimental subjects (E, N = 17) trained by running on flat terrain for 12 wk, 4 d/wk, 37 min/d at an intensity equal to 65 to 85% of their heart rate reserve while control subjects (C, N = 10) remained sedentary. All subjects underwent a minimum of four maximal treadmill tests (two with an IP and two with a HP) prior to training and two maximal treadmill tests (one IP and one HP) post-training. Multivariate analysis of variance and post-hoc t-tests using a pooled variance-covariance matrix were used to analyze the data. Alterations in E, consequent to training, included significant increases in VO2max [mean IP = 53.6 to 58.4 (+8.9%) and mean HP = 51.7 to 56.2 ml. kg-1 . min-1 (+8.7%)]. C showed a significant pre- to post-training decrease on the HP for VO2max [mean HP = 52.4 to 50.7 ml . kg-1 . min-1 (-3.2%)], but showed no significant change on the IP. There was no significant pre- to post-training interaction between protocols for VO2max. It was concluded that the post-training results do not support the concept of protocol specificity when evaluating VO2max in subjects trained exclusively on flat terrain.