Aerobic, Anaerobic, And Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption Energy Expenditure Of Rope Training

Abstract

Rope training has emerged in many fitness centers as a popular group fitness activity. Rope training consists of an individual waving 30-50 feet of rope as fast as they can for 15-30 seconds. To date, no studies have examined the energy expenditure (EE) of rope training. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the aerobic, anaerobic, and excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) EE from an acute bout of 10 minutes of rope training. METHODS: A total of 11 physically active participants (5 male, 6 female, mean age 24.7 ± 1.9 years) were recruited for this study. Participants were instructed to not exercise on the day of testing and to fast at least 4 hours prior to testing. All participants used a nylon rope (50 feet, 36 pounds, 1.5 inches) anchored by a post, resulting in the participant holding 25 feet of rope in each hand. The 10 minute rope protocol consisted of 15 seconds of vertical double arm waves followed by 45 seconds of rest, for 10 repetitions. Heart rate, resting VO2, exercise VO2, and EPOC were measured via metabolic cart. VO2 was recorded until 2 consecutive measurements were within ± 5% of resting O2 uptake, with the post-exercise VO2 used to calculate EPOC. Anaerobic EE was determined from the difference between peak and resting blood lactate measures, multiplied by body weight, then by 3.0 ml of O2. Total energy expenditure (TEE) was calculated by summing aerobic, anaerobic, and EPOC EE. RESULTS: The average heart rate for the workout was 162.5 ± 10.8 bpm (83% of age predicted max). Aerobic EE was 86.6 ± 30.7 kcal. Anaerobic EE was 12.2 ± 3.4 kcal. EE attributed to EPOC was 12.9 ± 5.3 kcal. TEE was 111.7 ± 38.5 kcal. When controlling for bodyweight, TEE was 1.5 ± 0.3 kcal/kg. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest rope training is an extremely vigorous workout, resulting in very high heart rates and caloric expenditure per unit of time. Although rope training provides a potent anaerobic stimulus, the intensity required does not lend itself to maintain the workout for prolonged durations, which may not prove useful for weight loss goals.