Twelve Weeks of Aerobic Training to Increase VO₂max in Sedentary Young Males

Abstract

Study purpose. The aim of this study was to verify the effect of three sessions of aerobic training, for a period of 12 weeks, on VO2max and on the distance covered during the test. Materials and Methods. Fifteen sedentary males were recruited in this study. VO2max was investigated using Cooper test. Aerobic intervention lasted for 12 weeks. The exercise the subjects were performing for the first 6 weeks was supervised aerobic training, 3 times per week at 60–75% of heart rate max (HRmax) (The first two weeks at 60–65 % HRmax, third and fourth week at 65–70% HRmax, fifth and sixth week at 70–75% HRmax). Afterwards, the subjects continued supervised aerobic training for 6 weeks until the twelfth week at 70–75% HRmax. Results. After 8 weeks of aerobic training, a significant increase in distance covered during the Cooper test (p<0.001) and a significant increase in VO2max (p < 0.001) were observed. Conclusions. In this study, it was found that 12 weeks of aerobic training have a positive impact on VO2max improvement and, therefore, completing 3 sessions of this type of training per week has a positive impact on aerobic parameters.