Table 3 Results of the HR_exercise, the RPE scale, and the C during exercise, presented in mean and SE. Different lower case letters represent significant differences between speeds. € symbol represents significant differences in factor time (pre- and post-training) within each group. *Significant differences between NW and FW groups (in pre- and post-training moments)

HR_exercise (bpm)

1 km h⁻¹

^€85.25 ± 3.09^a

80.44 ± 2.35^a

^€83.45 ± 3.85^a

80.47 ± 3.80^a

0.573

0.016

< 0.001

0.443

0.659

0.525

0.699

2 km h⁻¹

^€90.26 ± 3.03^b

84.87 ± 2.88^b

^€85.79 ± 3.53^b

84.26 ± 3.77^a

3 km h⁻¹

^€92.65 ± 3.16^b

87.88 ± 2.99 ^b

^€89.25 ± 3.48^c

87.53 ± 3.79^b

4 km h⁻¹

^€99.05 ± 2.95^c

92.58 ± 3.04 ^c

^€94.13 ± 3.78^d

91.30 ± 3.65^c

5 km h⁻¹

^€107.97 ± 4.03^d

102.65 ± 3.67^d

^€103.68 ± 4.55^e

98.86 ± 3.72^d

RPE

1 km h⁻¹

^€1.71 ± 0.23^a*

1.50 ± 0.16^a*

^€1.33 ± 0.12^a*

1.08 ± 0.08^a*

0.001

0.002

< 0.001

0.280

0.035

0.022

0.038

2 km h⁻¹

1.93 ± 0.18^a*

1.93 ± 0.18^a*

^€1.33 ± 0.12^a*

1.17 ± 0.10^a*

3 km h⁻¹

^€2.07 ± 0.18^a*

1.86 ± 0.13^a*

^€1.67 ± 0.18^ab*

1.42 ± 0.14^a*

4 km h⁻¹

^€2.71 ± 0.15^b*

2.14 ± 0.13^b*

^€2.07 ± 0.14^b*

2.00 ± 0.11^b*

5 km h⁻¹

^€3.79 ± 0.23^c*

2.86 ± 0.17^c*

^€2.80 ± 0.19^c*

2.58 ± 0.14^c*

C (J kg⁻¹ m⁻¹)

1 km h⁻¹

8.83 ± 0.50^a

7.72 ± 0.64^a

8.07 ± 0.58^a

6.55 ± 0.69^a

0.056

0.014

< 0.001

0.261

0.536

0.029

0.256

2 km h⁻¹

5.60 ± 0.26^bc

5.59 ± 0.37^bc

5.44 ± 0.41^bc

4.27 ± 0.28^bc

3 km h⁻¹

4.65 ± 0.25^bd

4.44 ± 0.26^bd

4.45 ± 0.29^bd

3.68 ± 0.31^bd

4 km h⁻¹

4.54 ± 0.20^b

4.36 ± 0.22^b

4.18 ± 0.24^b

3.76 ± 0.27^b

5 km h⁻¹

4.78 ± 0.21^b

4.66 ± 0.22^b

4.34 ± 0.27^b

3.86 ± 0.25^b