Prediction of the oxygen cost of the deadlift exercise

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between total estimated work, bar load and total oxygen consumption (TVO2) during the deadlift exercise. Forty-two observations of TVO2 during a wide range of deadlifting bouts were made on a heterogeneous sample of 10 males and 14 females. TVO2 was measured by standard open-circuit spirometry. An R of 0.912 for work and TVO2 indicated that total estimated work during deadlifting can be used to predict oxygen cost accurately. The calculated regression equation was TVO2 (litres of O2) = 2.63 + 0.80 work (kJ) with a S.E.E. of 1.50 litres O2. An R of 0.909 for bar load and TVO2 indicated essentially the same predictability using bar load as the independent variable. The calculated regression equation was TVO2 (litres O2) = 2.88 + 0.005 bar load (kg) with a S.E.E. of 1.5 litres O2. Care should be taken when converting oxygen cost to energy expenditure values using non-protein R equivalents, since underestimations are likely, due to the heavy glycolytic involvement.