Our Llanfoist Class Instructor Tom Stone attended a BACPR training course recently and discovered that new research is changing the way we think about cardiac rehab exercise
“As a Cardiac Rehab Exercise Instructor, I’m always looking to increase my knowledge in this area. I recently attended a course run by the BACPR on delivering High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to people with stable coronary heart disease (CHD).
We know that exercise training can improve cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life for people with CHD, but sometimes it’s not effective. I was there to find out if the intensity of exercise training was important and could make a positive difference.
Traditionally, cardiac rehab (CR) focuses on Moderate Intensity Steady-State (MISS) exercise training. That means exercising at moderate intensity for 20-40 minutes.
By contrast, HIIT is short bursts of high-intensity maximal effort (generally a minute) with short rests in between, such as sprint training.
HIIT training is not usually considered part of CR. However, during the course we were told of a recent UK study* that has led to changes in CR exercise programmes at some centres. In the study, 382 carefully selected patients from six CR centres (including Ystrad Mynach) were assigned to receive either low-volume HITT or standard MISS training twice a week over eight weeks. Both groups performed warm-ups and cool-downs.
The researchers found that patients doing the HIIT training (10 x 1-minute intervals of vigorous exercise) increased their cardiorespiratory fitness more than those doing the standard MISS training. They also found that the low-volume HIIT training was safe and well tolerated.
So, if low-volume HIIT has proven safe and effective at improving cardiovascular fitness, should all people who’ve had a cardiac event be doing it? Not necessarily; there are certain criteria, and it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. But if you’d like to know more, please ask me, or your regular Cardiac Rehab Exercise Instructor.”
