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The metabolic cost of slow graded treadmill walking with a weighted vest in untrained females
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

The metabolic cost of slow graded treadmill walking with a weighted vest in untrained females

James McCormick, Christine Mermier, Ann Gibson and Len Kravitz
Journal of Fitness Research, Vol.4(1), pp.28-35
2015
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Abstract

Human Movement and Sports Science female walking metabolic cost weighted vest
Introduction: For beginning exercisers or those with conditions that limit walking speeds, modifications to walking programs are needed to facilitate cardiorespiratory improvement. Purpose: To examine how oxygen consumption (VO2), relative exercise intensity (percentage of age predicted heart rate maximum) (REI), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) are affected while using a weighted vest during slow inclined treadmill walking. Methods: Thirteen untrained women (37±11.2 yr, 69.1±14.4 kg, 30.6±7.4% body fat) performed a standardised walking trial (4-min stages at 0, 5, 10, and 15% gradients) on a treadmill at a constant 1.12 m/s under three weighted vest conditions (0, 10, and 15% of body mass (BM)). VO2 and heart rate were measured continuously throughout each bout. RPE was recorded at the end of each minute. Results: Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant vest versus gradient interactions for VO2 and REI. Follow-up contrasts showed a nonlinear relationship between weighted vest conditions and gradient for VO2 and REI. At 0% gradient there was no significant difference in VO2 or REI between the 0% BM (10.2±1.1 ml/kg/min, 54.2±4.3%, respectively) and the 10% BM (10.6±1.0 ml/kg/min, 55.6±3.8%, respectively) conditions. A significant difference was found in VO2 and REI when a 15% BM vest (11.4±1.5 ml/kg/min, 57.4±6.7%, respectively) was used at 0% gradient. At the highest gradient (15%), there was no significant difference in VO2 or REI between 10% BM (25.7±1.3 ml/kg/min, 86.7±6.5%, respectively) or 15% BM (25.9±1.5 ml/kg/min, 87.9±5.7%, respectively); however, both were significantly different from 0% BM (23.6±0.8 ml/kg/min, 82.1±6.9%, respectively). A significant difference was shown for VO2 and REI for both weighted vest conditions compared to no vest at 5% and 10% gradients. No significant interactions were found between weighted vest conditions for RPE. Conclusion: For untrained women, using a weighted vest equivalent to 15% BM can increase VO2 and REI with no concomitant impact on perceived exertion during slow graded treadmill walking

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