Fig. 2.

Forest plot of the meta-analysis comparing changes in relative maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max) following sprint interval training (SIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) separated by baseline VO_2max: (A) <35 mL/kg/min; (B) >35 mL/kg/min; (C) the overall effect with all studies included. Because effect sizes were calculated as (SIT minus MICT) divided by pooled standard deviation, negative values reflect larger changes in VO_2max following MICT whereas positive values reflect larger changes following SIT. The red diamonds represent the overall weighted effect size (Hedge's g) for each baseline fitness group, and the blue diamond represents the overall weighted effect size including all studies. The horizontal points of the diamonds represent the upper and lower bounds of the 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). The meta-analysis revealed a low–moderate degree of inconsistency (I² = 38%). Overall changes in VO_2max presented as averages, and overall number of participants presented as total sums. Comparison of 1/2 SIT (^a) or “all-out” SIT (^b) vs. MICT (see Table 1 for details).