| Summary: | Background
It is unknown whether there are differences in maximal oxygen uptake (O2max) response when prescribing intensity relative to traditional (TRAD) anchors or to physiological thresholds (THR).
Objectives
The present meta-analysis sought to compare: (a) mean change in O2max, (b) proportion of individuals increasing O2max beyond a minimum important difference (MID) and (c) response variability in O2max between TRAD and THR.
Methods
Electronic databases were searched, yielding data for 1544 individuals from 42 studies. Two datasets were created, comprising studies with a control group (‘controlled’ studies), and without a control group (‘non-controlled’ studies). A Bayesian approach with multi-level distributional models was used to separately analyse O2max change scores from the two datasets and inferences were made using Bayes factors (BF). The MID was predefined as one metabolic equivalent (MET; 3.5 mL kg−1 min−1).
Results
In controlled studies, mean O2max change was greater in the THR group compar
|
|---|