Effects of Two Different Recovery Postures during High-Intensity Interval Training

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two different recovery postures, hands on head (HH) and hands on knees (HK), as a form of immediate recovery from high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Twenty female Division II varsity soccer players (age = 20.3 ± 1.1 yr, body mass index = 22.4 ± 1.80 kg·m −2 ) completed two experimental trials in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Each trial consisted of four intervals on a motorized treadmill consisting of 4 min of running (4 × 4) at 90%–95% HR max with 3 min of passive recovery between each interval. HR recovery was collected during the first 60 s of each recovery, where volume of carbon dioxide (V̇CO 2 ) and tidal volume (V T ) were recorded each minute during the 3-min recovery period. Results showed an improved HR recovery ( P < 0.001), greater V T ( P = 0.008), and increased V̇CO 2 ( P = 0.049), with HK (53 ± 10.9 bpm; 1.44 ± 0.2 L·min −1 , 1.13 ± 0.2 L·min −1 ) compared with HH (31 ± 11.3 bpm; 1.34 ± 0.2 L·min −1 , 1.03 ± 0.2 L·min −1 ). These data indicate that HK posture may be more beneficial than the advocated HH posture as a form of immediate recovery from high-intensity interval training.