The physiological effects of step training with and without handweights.
The purpose of this study was to examine the physiological effects of eight weeks of step training with (N = 12) and without (N = 12) handweights. Twenty-four college-aged females volunteered as subjects for the study which involved pre- and post-laboratory testing consisting of the following: an incremental treadmill test for determination of aerobic work indices, which included maximal oxygen uptake rate (VO2max), maximal heart rate, ventilatory threshold oxygen uptake rate (VT-VO2), and ventilatory threshold heart rate (VT-HR); hydrostatic weighing for determination of body composition, which included percent body fat (%BF), fat mass (FM), and lean body mass (LBM); anthropometric measurements for determination of body build characteristics, which included the endomorphic (ENDO) somatotype rating, mesomorphic (MESO) somatotype rating, and ectomorphic somatotype rating; isokinetic strength testing at 60 degrees.sec-1 for determination of flexion and extension strength of the arm at the shoulder joint, forearm at the elbow joint, and leg at the knee joint; and the concentric leg press for determination of overall lower body strength. Two-way analysis of covariance indicated that the main effect of step training resulted in significant (p < 0.05) overall improvements in VO2max (38.29 +/- 1.05 to 41.32 +/- 0.95 ml.kg-1/min-1), VT-VO2 (22.86 +/- 0.86 to 26.03 +/- 0.84 (ml.kg-1/min-1), VT-HR (159.62 +/- 3.01 to 168.29 +/- 3.19 b/min-1), %BF (26.16 +/- 1.05 to 23.95 +/- 1.06%), FM (15.13 +/- 0.96 to 13.82 +/- 0.96 kg), ENDO rating (5.24 +/- 0.18 to 4.93 +/- 0.18 units), MESO rating (3.22 +/- 0.19 to 3.50 +/- 0.19 units), arm flexion strength (30.73 +/- 1.83 to 35.08 +/- 1.73 N/m), forearm flexion strength (26.89 +/- 1.13 to 29.21 +/- 1.14 N/m), and forearm extension strength (28.13 +/- 1.26 to 31.07 +/- 1.38 N/m). Similar improvements were observed in both the handweight and no-handweight groups of subjects.
Center for Exercise and Applied Human Physiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
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Kravitz
C J
CJ
Cisar
C L
CL
Christensen
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SS
Setterlund
D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition; D003615:Dancing / Q000502:physiology; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D012119:Respiration