Training on a Lower Body Positive Pressure Treadmill with Body Weight Support does not Improve Aerobic Capacity.

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Lower body positive pressure treadmills (LBPPT) offer reduced impact exercise.
• Optimizing training intensity with body weight support (BWS) is crucial for physiological adaptations.
• Previous research has not conclusively determined the efficacy of varying BWS levels on aerobic capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of different body weight support (BWS) levels on aerobic capacity changes.
• To compare the physiological adaptations from training at 100%, 75%, and 50% of normal body weight (BW) on an LBPPT.
• To inform exercise prescription guidelines for LBPPT use.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-three healthy college students trained on an LBPPT for eight weeks.
• Participants were assigned to 100%, 75%, or 50% BWS groups.
• Training intensity was standardized to 60% of peak oxygen uptake (V̇O₂peak) determined from a graded exercise test (GXT) at normal BW.

Main Results:

• The 100% BW group showed a significant improvement in relative V̇O₂peak compared to the 50% BW group.
• No significant differences in V̇O₂peak changes were found between the 75% and 50% BW groups.
• Training at 75% and 50% BWS did not yield greater aerobic capacity improvements than 100% BWS.

Conclusions:

• Training at 75% and 50% of normal BW on an LBPPT does not enhance aerobic capacity compared to 100% BW training.
• Using training speeds derived from a full BW GXT may limit the benefits of reduced BWS for aerobic improvements.
• These findings suggest that LBPPT training at reduced BWS levels, under these specific conditions, may not be superior for improving aerobic capacity.