COMPARISONS OF PERCEIVED EXERTION ON ELLIPTICAL TRAINING VERSUS TREADMILL EXERCISE A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education Morehead State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Marcisha Brazley July, 2002 Mf,IJ._ TIIEiS!S {,,( 3.11012.... B 'Z 'J..7 c. COMPARISONS OF PERCEIVED EXERTION ON ELLIPTICAL TRAINING VERSUS TREADMILL EXERCISE Marcisha Brazley, M.A. Morehead State University, 2002 Director of Thesis: --'--=----''---c=.---''-'---..,_,,-"--"-"'.=..c--"'~-Ao.,-.Q?,.j:!sr j;; ,,{, 0, Statement of the Problem: The relationship between rates of perceived exertion (RPE) during elliptical trainer exercise and treadmill exercise is undefined. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to compare and determine whether there are differences in RPE with respect to submaximal workloads between elliptical trainer exercise and treadmill exercise. Sources of d,ata: Five normotensive males, age 21 to 25 years (22.4 ± 1.7) and six normotensive females, age 20 to 23 years (21 ±1.2), VO2 max values 30-59 ml/min/kg were recruited from the Health, Physical Education, and Exercise Science classes at Morehead State University (M.S.U.) and the Wellness Center at Morehead State University. Methods: Each subject completed one graded exercise test on a treadmill as determined by a Bruce protocol. On a separate day, each subject completed one graded exercise test, as determined by a predetermined protocol, on a Precor® EFX544 elliptical cross trainer. The second test was conducted at least 48 hours after the first test. Rate of perceived exertion and heart rate values were recorded after every three minutes of each exercise session. Results: Linear regression models found no significant difference in heart rate, percent VO2 max, or gender when controlling for rate of perceived exertion between elliptical cross training and treadmill exercise. Conclusions: When comparing metabolic effects of elliptical cross training and treadmill exercise at submaximal categories of percent VO2 max, there was no significant difference in the perception of effort between the two modalities. Accepted by: •D. Chair ~~~~~f1.IJ, Ro. Accepted, by the faculty of the College of Education, Morehead State University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. ja_Q_?r-&~, L~o. Director of Thesis Master's Committee: a __..-,, . hai~ ~ 1 ~~~~~ f/1.o TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 .......................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... l Problem .................................................................. :............................................... .3 Significance of the study ....................................................................................... .4 Delimitations ........................................................................................................ .4 Limitations ............................................................................................................. .4 Hypothesis .............................................................................................................. 5 Definition ofTerms ................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2 .......................................................................................................................... 6 Review of Literature ........................................................................................................ 6 Elliptical Cross Trainers ........................................................................................ 6 Maximal Oxygen Uptake ..................................................................................... 10 Exercise Modality and VO2 max ......................................................................... 11 Rate of Perceived Exertion .................................................................................. 13 Rate of Perceived Exertion and Fitness Level ..................................................... 18 Rate of Perceived Exertion and Exercise Modality ............................................. 19 Summary .............................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 3 ........................................................................................................................ 25 Material and Methods .................................................................................................... 25 Subjects ................................................................................................................ 25 Subject Screening ................................................................................................. 25 Pre-Test Instruction .............................................................................................. 26 Instrumentation .................................................................................................... 26 Design and Procedures ................................................................................................... 27 Treadmill Exercise Trial ...................................................................................... 28 Elliptical Training Exercise Trial.. ....................................................................... 29 Statistics and Analysis ........................................................................................ .30 Chapter 4 ........................................................................................................................ 32 Results ............................................................................................................................ 32 Effect of mode on RPE controlling for percent VO2 max ................................... 33 Effect of on RPE controlling for Heart Rate ....................................................... .36 Effect of mode on RPE by Stage ......................................................................... 38 Gender effect of mode on RPE ........................................................................... .40 Chapter 5 ....................................................................................................................... .41 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... .41 Recommendations ............................................................................................... .45 Appendix I .................................................................................................................... .46 Appendix II .................................................................................................................... 50 Appendix Ill ................................................................................................................... 53 Appendix IV ................................................................................................................... 56 References ...................................................................................................................... 57 TABLE OF FIGURES, GRAPHS, AND TABLES Figures Figure 1. Schematic of experimental protocol.. ............................................ 28 Figure 2. Elliptical Training ......................................................................... 29 Graphs Graph 1. Modality effect on RPE at percent VO2 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• .34 Graph 2. Modality Effect ofRPE on Heart Rate......................................... .37 Graph 3. Effect of Modality on RPE by Stage............................................. 39 Tables Table I. Descriptive Data............................................................................. 32 Table 2. Model for Main Interaction Effect of Mode and % VO2 ••••••••••••• .33 Table 3. RPE (95% Confidence Interval) by Mode.................................... .35 Table 4. Heart Rate Categories for LS means ............................................. .36 Table 5. Model of Main Interaction Effect of Heart Rate and Mode.......... .36 Table 6. LS mean values for Graph 3 ..................................................... 38 Table 7. Gender Effect.. ...................................................................... .40 Chapter 1 Introduction Investigations involving physical activity, fitness, and health have been precipitated by the increased incidence of chronic hypokinetic disease such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Causes for these problems promote continued research in these areas. Thus, an examination of modes of exercise and rate of perceived exertion, factors that influence adherence to exercise, is a primary focus point. Statistics from the Center of Disease Control show that about 40% of U.S. adults· were sedentary in 1997, engaging in no leisure time physical activities of any kind (1CDC, 2001). Also, currently more than 60% ofU.S. adults do not engage in the recommended amount of activity and approximately 25% of U.S. adults are not active at all (2CDC, 2001). The lack of exercise is a major health threat to the U.S. population, being responsible for an increased mortality and morbidity, as seen by the increased incidence of chronic disease such as diabetes, hypertension