Oxygen Consumption during Different Exercise Protocols in the Aged

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare response; specifically oxygen consumption; of a single bout of exercise using two different (constant and interval) intensity protocols in an aged population.Design: Ten males (68.8 ± 3.7 years) and six females (66.2 ± 3.5 years) were recruited for this study. All participants were actively involved in three hours of physical activity per week and were able to use a cycle ergometer unaided. Methods:Participants completed two randomised 20 min exercise protocols on a cycle ergometer, each with equal work output. The constant intensity session was at 50% of Vo 2max , and the 1 min interval session varied from 70% to 30% Vo 2max . Oxygen consumption was measured during the following phases; resting, warm-up, exercise, cooldown and 20 mins post-exercise.Results: Similar values were found when comparing the overall oxygen consumption for the constant and interval protocols respectively. However, significant differences (p<0.05) were found between the two different intensities during the exercise phase. Conclusions:The interval training protocol consumed higher levels of oxygen during the exercise phase when compared to the constant intensity protocol, despite the participants reporting similar RPE. These age-specific differences should be considered for future exercise prescription for this at-risk population.

Influence of Two Exercise Programs on Heart Rate Variability, Body Temperature, Central Nervous System Fatigue, and Cortical Arousal after a Heart Attack

“…Analyzing the fatigue perception of the different training conducted, we found that the MICT presented a higher fatigue perception for HAP than in control participants. It seems that the short rest interval allowed the HAP to have a lower fatigue perception, a fact in line with previous studies that also found higher motivation in interval training than in continuous training [40]. It is also important to note that HAP presented more than twice CNS fatigue in MICT than control participants, but HIIT had almost the same fatigue perception in HAP as control patients.…”