Aerobic Requirement of Bench Stepping

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to: (1) verify the aerobic requirement (AR) of bench stepping (BS); (2) determine the effect of leg length (LL), bench height (BH), stepping rate (SR), body weight (BW), and fat free mass (FFM) on the AR of BS; and (3) compare the HR and V̇O₂ of BS with treadmill walking/running (TM). Twenty-eight females completed randomly assigned BS sessions with hands on hips at 30 and 32 step cycles · min^-1. Sessions consisted of four 5 min. bouts at BH of 15.2, 30.4, 25.4 and 30.5 cm. A 4 × 2 repeated measures ANOVA determined that V̇O₂ was significantly different between each BH and SR (p<0.01) with no significant interaction between BH and SR (p > 0.05). A stepwise multiple regression determined that BH, BW, SR, FFM, and LL significantly affected BS V̇O₂ (p<0.05) with BH and BW accounting for 83% of the V̇O₂. A series of t-tests found no significant difference (p>0.05) between measured V̇O₂ and that predicted by the ACSM equation (1) at 15.2, 20.3 and 25.4cm. Measured V̇O₂ was significantly greater than predicted at 30.5 cm (p<0.01). A repeated measures ANCOVA determined that the V̇O₂/HR slopes for BS and TM were not parallel (p<0.01). Point testing determined that the HR elicited by TM at a specific V̇O₂ was significantly higher than the BS HR until 34 ml · kg^-1 · min^-1, but the SEE revealed large overlapping of HR. In conclusion, the AR of BS is primarily impacted by BH, BW and SR and is accurately predicted by the ACSM formula at the BH used in most classes; and HR response during BS is similar to that of TM.

Key words

Treadmill running - ACSM stepping equation - oxygen uptake - body weight - bench height