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A comparison of 2 circuit exercise training techniques for eliciting matched metabolic responses in persons with
Mark S Nash1, Patrick L Jacobs, Jeffrey M Woods
1Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation, Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA. msnash@miami.edu
Objective:
To test whether acute metabolic (VO(2)), chronotropic (heart rate), and perceptual (rating of perceived exertion; RPE) responses to exercise by persons with paraplegia differ when the exercise is on a multistation isoinertial exercise system (MultiGym) or on a customized system of Thera-Band resistance bands (ElasticGym).
Design:
Within-subjects comparison of 2 treatments.
Setting:
Academic medical center.
Participants:
Sixteen men and 1 woman with complete paraplegia (T4-L1), as defined by the American Spinal Injury Association.
Interventions:
A circuit resistance training (CRT) program for persons with paraplegia was adapted to both a MultiGym and a customized ElasticGym. Exercises used for training and testing used 6 resistance maneuvers at 50% of the 1-repetition maximum (1-RM), with interposed rapid arm spinning. Subjects were habituated to both conditions for 2 weeks before testing on randomized nonconsecutive days.
Main Outcome Measures:
VO(2) (L/min) was measured by portable spirometry, heart rate (beats/min) by a chest strap monitor, and RPE by the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion (6-20).
Results:
No significant effects of test condition on average VO(2) or heart rate were observed, with differences between conditions reflecting only .08L/min and 6.4 beats/min, respectively. Average RPE was significantly higher in testing under the ElasticGym condition (P < .05).
Conclusions:
CRT on a customized ElasticGym system elicited acute metabolic and chronotropic responses that did not differ from responses to exercise on a MultiGym, though RPE was greater with the ElasticGym.