Determination of peak oxygen uptake during upper body exercise

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine (1) the repeatability of a currently recommended protocol for determination of VO2 peak during upper body exercise involving a crank rate of 60 rev min-1 (Hale et al. 1988), (2) whether employing a higher crank rate (70 rev min-1) elicits higher VO2 peak values; (3) whether including an additional exercise stage 5 min after volitional exhaustion would elicit higher VO2 peak values. Twenty subjects (mean +/- SD) age, height and body mass were 22.8 +/- 1.8 years, 176 +/- 5.0 cm and 77.5 +/- 4.0 kg, respectively) visited the laboratory on three separate occasions. Subjects performed a different test to determine upper body VO2 peak on each visit. The tests were continuous and incremental in nature and were performed on a Monark cycle ergometer (Model 814E) adapted for arm exercise. Test 1 required subjects to exercise at a crank rate of 60 rev min-1 (60RPM-1). Test 2 was identical to test 1 (60RPM-2) but after 5 min recovery from the test subjects performed a further exercise stage (60RPM-F). Test 3 employed a crank rate of 70 rev min-1 (70RPM). Five minutes after volitional exhaustion a further exercise stage was performed (70RPM-F). The levels of agreement for the 60 rev min-1 protocol were +/-0.50 1 min-1. All VO2 peak values achieved were within these limits. However, a higher VO2 peak was achieved by employing a crank rate of 70 rev min-1 (p < 0.05). The VO2 peak achieved for 60RPM-F was similar to 60RPM whereas the VO2 peak for 70RPM-F tended to be less than that for 70RPM (p = 0.064). The results of this study suggest that the 60 rev min-1 protocol can reliably determine VO2 peak, however it would appear to be more appropriate to employ a 70 rev min-1 protocol as higher values were attained.

Relationship in humans between spontaneously chosen crank rate and power output during upper body exercise at different levels of intensity

“…During exercise performed at 70 rpm, P max measured by Price and Campbell (1997) and by Sawka et al (1983) were 154 (SD 18) and 179 (SD 7) W, respectively. These authors have suggested a relationship between the high P max and the high imposed pedal rates.…”

Thermoregulatory responses of spinal cord injured and able-bodied athletes to prolonged upper body exercise and recovery

“…11 Each submaximal exercise stage was 4 min in duration and followed by a 2 min rest period in order to minimise local fatigue. 12,13 Expired air was collected during the ®nal minute of each stage via the Douglas bag technique.…”

The influence of crank configuration on muscle activity and torque production during arm crank ergometry

“…In particular, this generic exercise mode is used for the purpose of clinical evaluations and exercise rehabilitation (Metter et al, 2004;Myers and Bellin, 2000;Pollock et al, 1974;Shaw et al, 1974;Walker et al, 2000), and for the purpose of examining the physiological responses of specifically-trained able bodied (Price and Campbell, 1997;Sedlock et al, 2004) and physically disabled (Abel et al, 2003;DiCarlo and Glaser, 1988;Glaser, 1989;Price and Campbell, 1997;Sedlock et al, 2004) athletes. The majority of previous studies have employed an asynchronous crank pattern even though the majority of competitive handcyclists employ a synchronous crank configuration (Abel et al, 2003;Verellen et al, 2004).…”