Intermittent exercise is a valuable method of training, consisting of numerous interrelated factors. The critical power model has been used to administer interval training programs; however, it has not been used to accurately prescribe elements of intermittent exercise. PURPOSE: This study aimed to use individual critical power models to prescribe elements of intermittent exercise. METHODS: Ten male athletes, mean (sd) age and mass 19.6 (1.4) years and 77.8 (8.1) kg performed three phases of testing on a cycle ergometer: 1) familiarization, one learning trial to establish a starting point for subsequent tests; 2) establishment of individual W/t relationship from [Eq 1], i.e. t = W’ / (W – WCP), 4 bouts of exercise designed to elicit fatigue in 2-15 minutes; 3) intermittent exercise, 3 bouts of work with predicted number of work/recovery cycles (n = 5) of 60/60 s, 120/60 s, and 60/120 s. The elements of these bouts were prescribed using [Eq 2], i.e. n = W’ / ((Ww – WCP)tw – (WCP – Wr)tr) and estimates of W’ and CP from phase 2 of testing. One sample t-tests were used to compare the number of cycles actually completed to the predicted value of 5 cycles for each intermittent exercise bout. A repeated-measures ANOVA was used to compare the effect of intermittent exercise on the number of work/recovery cycles completed across conditions. RESULTS: The mean (sd) completed work/recovery cycles were 4.64 (0.47), 4.65 (1.10), and 3.70 (0.80), for the 60/60 s, 120/60 s, and 60/120 s trials, respectively. Results of the t-tests suggested that actual values were not significantly different from predicted for 60/60 s and 120/60 s (t(9) = -2.39, p = 0.04; t(9) = -1.01, p = 0.34), but were for 60/120 s (t(9) = -5.14, p \u3c 0.01). Results of the rANOVA suggested that the mean completed work/recovery cycles was significantly different across conditions (F(2,18) = 3.99, p = 0.04). DISCUSSION: These data suggest that using [Eq 2], with estimates of W’ and CP from [Eq 1], to prescribe elements of intermittent exercise can be successful for trials with short recovery periods
