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

This study examined the physiological changes resulting from training on a lower body positive pressure treadmill (LBPPT) at three different levels of body weight support (BWS). Thirty-three healthy college aged students (22.3 ± 3.1 years) completed the study. Participants performed a graded exercise test (GXT) to exhaustion and were placed into one of three experimental groups corresponding to 100%, 75%, and 50% of their normal BW. Participants trained at their experimental BW levels for eight-weeks. Training speed was monitored by heart rate (HR) and speed was adjusted to elicit approximately 60% of participant's peak oxygen uptake (V̇O_2peak) at normal BW prior to including body weight support (BWS). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the change in aerobic capacity. The 100% BW group improved their relative V̇O_2peak (1.42 ± 1.52 ml · min^-1 · kg^-1) when compared to the 50% BW group (-0.87 ± 2.20 ml · min^-1 · kg^-1 [p = .022]) but not the 75% BW group (-0.16 ± 1.92 ml · min^-1 · kg^-1, [p = .14]). Furthermore, no statistical differences in V̇O_2peak were observed between the 75% and 50% BW groups (p = .66). Based on this study, training at 75% and 50% of normal BW on a LBPPT does not improve aerobic capacity compared to training with no BWS when using training speeds derived from a GXT with full BW. The outcome of this study may help to prescribe training speeds while utilizing a LBPPT to maintain or improve aerobic capacity.