ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Movement Science
HIIT and Tabata Protocols for Improving Physical and Cognitive Health in Sedentary College Students: A Randomized Trial
Guangzhou Huali College, Guangzhou, China
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Abstract
This randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the effects of HIIT-30S protocols (30s work/30s rest) and Tabata protocols (20s work/10s rest) protocols on physical fit ness and cognitive function in sedentary college students. Eighty-four undergraduates (19.07±0.76 years; 34 males and 60 females) were stratified into HIIT-30s, Tabata, or moderate-intensity training (MICT) groups and completed 24 supervised sessions over 8 weeks. Physical outcomes included an 800-meter run (cardiorespiratory endurance), push-ups/sit-ups (muscular endurance), 50-meter sprint (speed), the Sitting Reach Tes t (flexibility), and heart rate recovery (cardiovascular recovery ability). Cognitive asse ssments encompassed the WAIS-IV core cognition (general intelligence), Letter-Num ber Sequencing test (working memory), Time Management Questionnaire (TMQ), Em otion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Reaction Time Testing, and a 12 weeks follow -up comprehensive Cognition Questionnaire. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.0 5. HIIT-30S and Tabata outperformed MICT acrossin all domains (p<0.05). HIIT-30s elicited superior physical adaptations: 800-meter run time decreased by −11.78s, push -ups increased +9.29 reps, sit-ups increased +11.39 reps, 50-meter sprint decreased -0. 37 s, and HRR improved +12.66%. Tabata showed greater neurocognitive enhanceme nts: WAIS-IV core cognition scores rose +10.47 points, Letter-Number Sequencing sc ores rose +1.68 points, TMA scores rose +10.97 points, EMA scores rose +16.79 poin ts, Simple Reaction time decreased -40.61ms, choice reaction time decreased −65.15m s, and Continuous Reaction time decreased -51.14ms. At the 12-week follow-up, HIIT -30s maintained cognitive gains (+3.05%) with the greatest improvement compared to Tabata(+1.97%). These findings indicate that the work-to-rest ratio is a key determina nt of training effects, enabling protocol customization for specific individual fitness an d cognitive aims.These findings underscore that the work-to-rest ratio is a key determi nant of physiological and neural adaptations, tailoring training protocols to specific ph ysical fitness or cognitive goals of the individual.
Summary
Keywords
cognitive function enhancement, High-intensity interval training, Physical Fitness, Sedentary College Students, Tabata protocol
Received
29 June 2025
Accepted
30 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Ning. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Xu Ning
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