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A Comparison of the Oxygen Consumption/Body Weight Relationship Obtained During Submaximal Exercise on a Bicycle Ergometer and on a Treadmill
Author(s) -
Kappagoda C. T.,
Linden R. J.,
Newell J. P.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
quarterly journal of experimental physiology and cognate medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0033-5541
DOI - 10.1113/expphysiol.1979.sp002473
Subject(s) - bicycle ergometer , treadmill , sitting , physical therapy , body weight , vo2 max , physical exercise , medicine , cardiology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , heart rate , blood pressure , pathology
It is widely accepted that the relationship between oxygen consumption and body weight obtained during exercise on a bicycle ergometer differs from that obtained during treadmill walking. Experimental evidence to support this claim is lacking. To examine this difference a group of subjects (body weight 41—81 kg) undertook a predetermined level of submaximal exercise on a bicycle ergometer and on a treadmill. Oxygen consumption was measured in a steady state at rest (i.e. sitting on the bicycle ergometer and standing on the treadmill) and during the two modes of exercise. A significant positive correlation between oxygen consumption and body weight was obtained under all four conditions of measurement. At rest the two regression lines did not differ in slope or elevation. During exercise the slope and the elevation of the line obtained from treadmill walking were significantly greater than from bicycle ergometer exercise. The ‘metabolic cost’ of bicycle ergometer exercise, (Vo 2 during exercise—Vo 2 at rest), showed no significant correlation with body weight. In contrast, there was a significant positive correlation during walking. It is suggested that these differences have arisen due to a different proportion of the total body weight supported by the subject in the two forms of exercise.