Acute Metabolic and Enjoyment Responses of Three Walking Protocols

Abstract

Encouraging physical activity is a key component of public health. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that interval walking would produce higher 2 ) and similar enjoyment responses during and following exercise compared to continuous walking. Ten healthy adults (4 women, 6 men; mean age = 24 ± 5 years) completed the following 3 walking bouts in counterbalanced order and equated for total volume (90 MET· min): 1) 30 min of low-moderate continuous walking (3 METs; ~ 4.8 km/h), 2) 24 min and 24 s of interval walking (IW1) with cycles of 30 s:60 s of high-moderate (5 METs; ~ 6.4 km/h):low-moderate intensities, and 3) 26 min and 20 s of interval walking (IW2) with cycles of 30 s:120 s of high-moderate:low-moderate intensities. Accumulated O 2 uptake during exercise was higher during IW2 (28,232 ± 2,782 mL) compared to IW1 (26,561 ± 2,685 mL; p = 0.03) and continuous walking (24,500 ± 2,427 mL; p = 0.001), and higher during IW1 than during continuous walking (p = 0.001). EPOC over 20 min was higher after IW1 (1,268 ± 117 mL O 2 ) compared to continuous walking (892 ± 73 mL; p = 0.04); the 2 interval walking protocols were not different (IW2: 1, 2 and EPOC in shorter total durations of exercise compared to continuous walking of a similar enjoyment and volume.