Honors Thesis Review

In this study, the effects of aerobic interval training were observed after several weeks of testing done of mice. Different types of exercise do different things in the body, and in this study max VO2, running speed, blood lactate levels, and different skeletal muscles were looked at to observe the effects that this specific type of exercise had on body function and performance. Skeletal muscle comes in many different varieties, two of which are slow contracting and fast contracting. The former are low-powered and are best for endurance based activities like a long jog, and the latter are best for short bursts of high intensity such as sprints.  Muscle fibers are easily adaptable, and can switch between the two forms depending on the demand required by the body. For example, studies show that endurance training (like a long jog or run) has been shown to trigger fast contracting muscle to slow contracting muscle. In other words, the body demanded more slow contracting muscle to accommodate the endurance training, so the body converted fast contracting muscle to slow contracting muscle. If the body were doing more high intensity interval training, the opposite would occur, and slow contracting muscle would be converted into fast contracting muscle. Also measured was VO2  max, which is the amount of oxygen (measure in volume) consumed at maximum effort. The more aerobically fit an organism is, the higher their VO2 max will be. Lactate levels were also measured, which is the amount of lactic acid found in the body. When engaged in exercise, the body breaks down carbohydrates and produces lactic acid as a side effect. The greater amount of blood lactate found immediately after exercise can be attributed to a greater amount of work performed (harder exercise.) The more often exercise is done, the greater tolerance an organism will have to lactate accumulation.

The study found that the mice that completed more exercise were able to run at higher speeds, had a higher VO2  measurement, had lower levels of lactate (meaning their bodies had a greater tolerance to the lactic acid,) and a slight increase was found in the amount of fast contracting muscle while a slight decrease was found in the amount of slow contracting muscle fibers. These muscle transformations make sense, since the type of exercise the mice were doing was a interval training, which fast contracting muscle is more suited for.

If I had done this study, I would’ve added a third group of mice on top of the two groups that were already studied (sedentary and exercise groups.) I would’ve added a group of mice that were doing endurance training, so that there was one group of mice doing interval training, and another doing endurance. I think it would be interesting to see what the muscle fiber transformations would’ve turned out to be. I think the comparisons between lactate levels and VO2 max also would’ve been interesting to see, as these are good indicators of the level of fitness an individual has. There results could indicate which type or training is better for overall health or specific performance goals, such as weight loss.

For future research topics related to this one, I would suggest studying the effects of interval training vs endurance training. With so many types of exercise out there, it would be good for people to see which type of exercise causes which effects so they can choose the type most appropriate for them and their personal goals. I would also extend this study to show the effects of exercise on other functions in the body, such as blood sugar or resting heart rate. You could then extend the study again to include the two types or training, endurance and interval, to show the different effects those two different training styles have. Additionally, you could maintain using one type of training, but have two groups of mice doing the same training and change their diets to see how that affects the muscles and VO2 measurements. For example, one group could eat a diet of high carb/low fat content, and the other could have a diet of high fat/low carb content. At the end of the study, you would be able to see how each diet changes the body.

Annotation: Writing this review was my first time looking at an honors thesis, and I was so impressed with the author of the thesis I reviewed. This assignment gave me a very good idea of the types of things I could research and how to do such research. I found this particular thesis to be very interesting, and I think it gives really good info for anyone who is deciding between what type of training to do, endurance or interval.