REF-285 · Ingham SA et al., 2013 · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, · Paper · PubMed
Improvement of 800-m Running Performance With Prior High-Intensity Exercise
Participants
n=11 highly trained middle-distance runners
Protocol
Two 800-m time trials on an indoor track on separate days, each after a 10-min self-paced jog and standardised mobility drills, then either:
CON: 6 × 50-m strides
HWU: 2 × 50-m strides plus a continuous high-intensity 200-m run at race pace
Blood lactate measured before the TT; VO2 breath-by-breath throughout
Key Results
800-m time was significantly faster after HWU: 124.5 ± 8.3 s vs 125.7 ± 8.7 s (P < .05) — a 1.2-s (~1%) gain
Blood lactate before the TT was higher after HWU (3.6 ± 1.9 vs 1.7 ± 0.8 mM, P < .01) — the priming did not impair performance
VO2 mean response time was NOT different (HWU 27 ± 6 vs CON 28 ± 7 s) — kinetics were not measurably faster
Total O2 consumed tended to be greater after HWU (119 ± 18 vs 109 ± 28 ml/kg, P = .05), as did peak VO2 attained (4.21 ± 0.85 vs 3.91 ± 0.63 L/min, P = .08)
Authors' conclusion: a sustained high-intensity warm-up enhances 800-m time-trial performance in trained athletes
Mechanism
Inference (authors' premise): prior high-intensity exercise increases the oxidative energy contribution to subsequent exercise. Here the gain came with a trend to more total O2 consumed and a higher peak VO2 rather than a faster VO2 response time — more aerobic energy over the race, not a quicker start of it.
Practical Application
In 11 highly trained middle-distance runners, replacing four of six 50-m strides with a continuous 200-m run at race pace made an indoor 800-m TT 1.2 s faster (124.5 vs 125.7 s, P < .05), with a trend to more total O2 used; VO2 kinetics did not speed up — a sustained race-pace effort in the warm-up beats strides alone for 800 m
Running warm-up for middle distance: after the jog and drills, include one continuous ~200-m race-pace effort, not only short strides
The higher pre-race lactate after the hard effort (3.6 vs 1.7 mM) was not a problem for performance
Not from this paper; the base's own practice: allow several minutes of easy movement between the last hard effort and the start; the recovery interval used in this study is not stated in the abstract
Limitations
Only the 800-m distance tested; indoor track
Small sample (n=11); sex of participants not stated in the abstract
VO2 kinetics (mean response time) unchanged — the mechanism proposed in the introduction was not confirmed
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-27 from A-: crossover, n=11 (<15)
Content correction 2026-09-27
Protocol "2 × 50 s at 800-m race pace, 5 min recovery" -> abstract: HWU = 2 × 50-m strides + continuous 200-m run at race pace; CON = 6 × 50-m strides.
"Faster VO2 kinetics in the first 200 m" and "higher VO2 at start" -> abstract: mean response time not different (27 vs 28 s); total O2 and peak VO2 only tended higher (P = .05 / .08). "1.2% faster" -> 1.2 s (~1%); "all 11 runners improved" and "only male" removed (not in abstract).
Level A- -> B (crossover, n=11); Tier 4-5 -> 3-4; Sport "cycling, sprint" -> running.