Active Vs. Passive Recovery From Sprinting

Sprint interval training can be performed on foot or on a bike. A study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness looks at the differences in both conditions when given 60-seconds of active and passive recovery between 10 second all-out sprints.

Researchers analyzed 5 running studies and 4 cycling studies. They found that passive recovery reduced physiological stress and between sprint performance decrements in all running studies, but there were mixed results for passive recovery after cycling sprint intervals. In some circumstances, active recovery might be useful for inducing greater muscle adaptations from training.