A 2006 study conducted by Gibala et al. and published in the Journal of Physiology concludes that very diverse training habits can bring about similar changes in exercise performance as well as muscle adaptation. The study found that brief, intense training can bring about metabolic and performance adaptations very similar to those brought about by the traditional endurance training. From the study, Gibala et al. (2006), concluded that low volume sprint interval training was a time efficient way to bring about rapid adaptation of the skeletal muscle and exercise performance that was very similar to that induced by traditional high volume endurance training in young people.

The study by Gibala et al. (2006) aimed to find out whether brief, intense training could bring about metabolic and performance adaptation similar to that brought about by high volume endurance training. The study involved 16 men divided into two groups; one that was subjected to high volume endurance training while the other was subjected to low volume endurance training. Sprint interval training consisted of 18-27 minute intervals while the high volumes endurance training consisted of 90-120 minute intervals. All men were over 21 years of age. During the study, the participants were checked for changes in exercise capacity as well as molecular and cellular adaptations in skeletal muscle. This was checked participants belonging to both groups. This was determined through a muscle analysis in which the muscle glycogen content was analyzed. The results showed that training-induced muscle buffering capacity was similar in both groups of participants, same case to the glycogen content. From these results, Gibala et al. (2006) concluded that diverse training regimes can bring about similar changes in exercise performance and muscle adaptation. However, they still recommend that sprint interval training should not be considered as enough preparation for those activities that require prolonged endurance.