Question
Can you have someone with COPD perfom high intensity interval training (HIIT)? What does the literature state?
Answer
A lot of people would think HIIT would be a really bad idea for somebody with COPD. They cannot breathe very well, so let's make him breathe really hard. Let’s make them work really hard. However, what has been found is that the functional deficits associated with dyspnea, deconditioning, and reduced health-related quality of life was improved after performing High-Intensity Interval Training. Improved walking endurance, overall activity, quality-of-life, VO2, muscular function were found when using a ratio of four to three and a HR of 80% to 100%.