Maximal aerobic capacity for repetitive lifting: comparison with three standard exercise testing modes

Abstract

A multi-stage, repetitive lifting maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) test was developed to be used as an occupational research tool which would parallel standard ergometric VO2max testing procedures. The repetitive lifting VO2max test was administered to 18 men using an automatic repetitive lifting device. An intraclass reliability coefficient of 0.91 was obtained with data from repeated tests on seven subjects. Repetitive lifting VO2max test responses were compared to those for treadmill, cycle ergometer and arm crank ergometer. The mean +/- SD repetitive lifting VO2max of 3.20 +/- 0.42 l.min-1 was significantly (p less than 0.01) less than treadmill VO2max (delta = 0.92 l.min-1) and cycle ergometer VO2max (delta = 0.43 l.min-1) and significantly greater than arm crank ergometer VO2max (delta = 0.63 l.min-1). The correlation between repetitive lifting oxygen uptake and power output was r = 0.65. VO2max correlated highly among exercise modes, but maximum power output did not. The efficiency of repetitive lifting exercise was significantly greater than that for arm cranking and less than that for leg cycling. The repetitive lifting VO2max test has an important advantage over treadmill or cycle ergometer tests in the determination of relative repetitive lifting intensities. The individual curves of VO2 vs. power output established during the multi-stage lifting VO2max test can be used to accurately select work loads required to elicit given percentages of maximal oxygen uptake.

Cardiorespiratory and hemodynamic responses during repetitive incremental lifting and lowering in healthy males and females

“…The remaining five predictors, L-OXY-range, LBM, HR, L-SFT and R-BVdelta, individually explained 1.2% to 5.4% of the common variance with the _ V V O 2peak (Table 4). Sharp et al (1988) reported that absolute _ V V O 2peak during discontinuous repetitive incremental lifting was significantly correlated with total body mass and LBM but not related to percent body fat in healthy males. The correlations with cardiorespiratory variables were not examined in their study.…”

“…Commissaris and Toussaint (1996) designed a discontinuous lifting protocol to avoid localized muscular fatigue, which theoretically would enable the subjects to lift a higher load and increase the peak cardiorespiratory responses. Additionally, research has shown that the _ V V O 2peak achieved during repetitive lifting is dependent on the frequency and the mass of the lift (Fernandez et al 1987;Petrofsky and Lind 1978a;Sharp et al 1988). The lower peak O 2 pulse in males observed in this study compared to others (Commisaris and Toussaint 1996;Nindl et al 1998;Sharp et al 1988) was due primarily to their lower absolute _ V V O 2peak , as the HR peak was within the range reported by the investigators cited.…”

“…Additionally, research has shown that the _ V V O 2peak achieved during repetitive lifting is dependent on the frequency and the mass of the lift (Fernandez et al 1987;Petrofsky and Lind 1978a;Sharp et al 1988). The lower peak O 2 pulse in males observed in this study compared to others (Commisaris and Toussaint 1996;Nindl et al 1998;Sharp et al 1988) was due primarily to their lower absolute _ V V O 2peak , as the HR peak was within the range reported by the investigators cited. The slightly higher peak O 2 pulse of the females in this study compared to those evaluated by Nindl et al (1998) was due to the lower HR peak (15 beats/min) as the absolute _ V V O 2peak was similar in both groups of subjects.…”

“…To date, several studies have investigated the maximal cardiorespiratory responses to incremental lifting and compared them with other modes such as cycle ergometry and treadmill running (Commissaris and Toussaint 1996;Legg 1981;Nindl et al 1998;Petrofsky and Lind 1978b;Revuelta et al 2000;Sharp et al 1988). The evidence indicates that the maximal cardiorespiratory responses [oxygen uptake ( _ rate, ventilation rate ( _ V V E )] during incremental lifting to voluntary fatigue are significantly lower than those attained during incremental cycle ergometry or treadmill running (Petrofsky and Lind 1978b;Sharp et al 1988). The reasons for this are currently unclear, but could be due to differences in the types of muscle contractions required for these exercise modes.…”

Gender comparison of peak oxygen uptake: repetitive box lifting versus treadmill running

“…In comparison, O 2peak during repetitive lifting (RL) has received less attention (Hagen et al 1993;Sharp et al 1988). This is unfortunate since RL represents a physical task that is encountered frequently in industrial, military, and emergency-rescue professions.…”