Short-Term High-Intensity Rowing Ergometry Training Improves Rowing Performance Equally in Healthy Weight and Obese...

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Pediatric Health
• Sports Science

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a significant public health issue.
• Physical activity is a key strategy for managing pediatric overweight and obesity.
• Rowing ergometer training is a potential intervention for improving fitness in adolescents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of supervised, high-intensity rowing ergometer training on rowing performance in healthy weight and centrally obese adolescents.
• To compare maximal and submaximal rowing performance changes between intervention and control groups.

Main Methods:

• Adolescents (12-13 yr) were randomized into a 6-week supervised rowing ergometry group (2 sessions/week, 2x3-min high-intensity bouts) or a control group.
• Participants underwent baseline and follow-up assessments of rowing performance using submaximal and 3-minute maximal tests.
• Sample size: 57 in the intervention group and 45 in the control group.

Main Results:

• Six weeks of training significantly enhanced maximal exercise performance, increasing total distance in a 3-minute maximal effort by 19.7 m (2.7%, P=0.018).
• Training also led to a significant reduction in perceived effort during a submaximal load (60 W) (P=0.040).
• Higher body mass was associated with better baseline rowing performance, but training effects did not differ between healthy weight and obese adolescents.

Conclusions:

• High-intensity rowing ergometry training effectively improves maximal rowing performance in adolescents.
• Improvements in rowing performance were comparable between healthy weight and overweight/obese adolescents.
• Rowing emerges as a promising exercise modality for interventions targeting overweight and obese youth.