Evaluation of Energy Expenditure Rate During Continuous Upper Body Cyclic Exercise

Abstract

The consideration of energy expenditure rates of limb movement sequences is important when designing new exercise machines or developing novel exercise modes. Given a design that focuses on maximizing energy expenditure for a given exercise intensity, the ability to determine energy expenditure rates is essential. A novel exercise test machine has been developed that enables the performance of exercise sequences in multiple directions and planes. This paper presents a methodology to evaluate the energy expenditure rate associated with different limb movement sequences during continuous upper body cyclic exercise. Eight male subjects completed maximal and submaximal trials (RPE-11, RPE-13, RPE-15) for 4 different movement sequences. Although significant differences in energy expenditure rates were observed between exercise intensities, differences between movement sequences were less pronounced. The oxygen uptakes observed during experimentation correlate with values observed in past studies for single arm cranking. These findings indicate the methodology established in this study is a viable means of measuring energy expenditure for a wide variety of upper extremity cyclic movements.