Low-volume "sprint" interval training (SIT) stimulates rapid improvements in muscle oxidative capacity that are comparable to traditional endurance training (ET) but no study has examined metabolic adaptations during exercise after these diverse training strategies. We hypothesized that SIT and ET would induce similar adaptations in markers of skeletal muscle carbohydrate (CHO) and lipid metabolism and metabolic control during exercise despite large differences in training volume and time commitment. Active but untrained subjects (23±1 y) performed a constant-load cycling challenge (1 h at 65% of VO2peak) before and after 6 wk of either SIT or ET (n=5 men and 5 women per group). SIT consisted of 4-6 repeats of a 30 s "all out" Wingate Test with 4.5 min recovery per d, 3 dwk-1. ET consisted of 40-60 min of continuous cycling at ~65% VO2peak per d, 5 dwk-1. Weekly time commitment (~1.5 vs ~4.5 h) and total training volume (~600 vs ~3000 kJwk-1) was substantially lower in SIT vs ET. Despite these differences, both protocols induced similar increases (P<0.05) in mitochondrial markers for skeletal muscle CHO (pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 protein content) and lipid oxidation (3-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase maximal activity) and protein content of peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1alpha. Glycogen and phosphocreatine utilization during exercise were reduced after training, and calculated rates of whole-body CHO and lipid oxidation were decreased and increased respectively, with no differences between groups (all main effects, P<0.05). Given the markedly lower training volume in the SIT group, these data suggest that high-intensity interval training is a time-efficient strategy to increase skeletal muscle oxidative capacity and induce specific metabolic adaptations during exercise that are comparable to traditional ET.