Effect of an aerobic training program on physical working capacity at heart rate threshold

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of an aerobic training program on physical working capacity at the heart rate threshold (PWC_HRT). A total of 19 subjects volunteered for this investigation. The control group (CG) consisted of three females and four males, while the training group (TG) included four females and eight males. All subjects were pretested and posttested for maximal oxygen consumption rate (\(\dot V\)O_2max) and PWC_HRT. The training consisted of riding a cycle ergometer for 30 min at 85% of maximal heart rate (HR) three times per week for 8 weeks. Two univariate (\(\dot V\)O_2max and PWC_HRT) 2 × 2 mixed factorial analyses of variance [group (CG, TG) × time (pretraining, posttraining)] were used to analyze the data. A significant (P < 0.05) group by time interaction for PWC_HRT was followed by paired t-tests to analyze the simple main effects. The PWC_HRT for the TG increased significantly (P < 0.05) as a result of the training program, whereas no change occurred for the CG. The \(\dot V\)O_2max did not change significantly for either the TG or the CG. The results of this investigation demonstrate that PWC_HRT was sensitive to the effects of an 8-week aerobic training program.