Oxygen consumption during calisthenic exercise in women with coronary artery disease

The purpose of this study was to compare the oxygen consumption (VO2) during calisthenic exercises in middle-aged women (aged 43-63 years) with and without coronary artery disease (CAD). Indirect calorimetry was used to measure VO2 in 15 healthy women and 15 women with CAD. Four exercises were performed for three minutes each before measurements of VO2 were taken. The exercises were 1) sitting knee extension, 2) standing hip flexion, 3) an upper extremity range-of-motion exercise, and 4) lateral trunk flexion. Using an analysis of covariance, no significant difference was found in VO2 between the two groups; however, there was a significant difference among the four exercises. Oxygen consumption was lowest for both groups during the knee extension and the lateral trunk flexion exercises; both groups demonstrated the highest levels for VO2 during the hip flexion exercise. This study provides evidence that the energy cost of these low-intensity calisthenics is similar for healthy women and women with CAD.