Difference in Energy Expenditure in the Treadmill and Rower Machine - Term Paper Example

Comparing the difference in energy expenditure in treadmill and rower machine Name Course Instructor 05 November 2012 Introduction Exercise plays a major role in human health; it is associated with a decrease risk of chronic heart disease. Physical activity is underlying problem solver to all prolonged disease such as blood pressure, diabetes and obesity many issue appear to be related to sedentary life style, measured as either energy expenditure or minutes of physical activity ( Moyna et al., 2001; Vathsangam et al., 2011). Exercise may be entertaining and sustained as an enjoyable experience if people select activities that results in a high rate of energy expenditure. Indoor cardio equipment or exercise machines have become critical tools that people use to achieve goals of physical exercise activities. The different exercise machines promote different modes of exercise, thereby enabling individuals to have a chance to select the appropriate machines with capability to address their physical exercise needs. Moreover, physical trainers are keen to have indoor cardio equipment that have ability to satisfy trainee needs, a situation that calls for the evaluation of different cardio equipment available for indoor exercises. Guided by this, the aim of this paper is to compare two exercise machines: treadmill and rower machine, in terms of difference in energy expenditure. A number of studies have been conducted in which case differences among the exercise machines have been established. For example, a study by Zeni, Hoffman & Clifford (1996a), examined indoor exercise machines with regard to energy expenditure at given ratings of perceived exertion. The study compared major exercise machines such as treadmill, rowing ergometer, combined cycle/arm ergometer, cycle ergometer, stairstepper, and cross-country skiing simulator (Zeni, Hoffman & Clifford, 1996a). The study was able to establish that rates of energy expenditure were able to change as much as 261 kcal/hour; for the exercise machines (Zeni, Hoffman & Clifford, 1996a). This was particularly notable when subjects in the research were able to exercise at self-selected work rates that were categorised as fairly light, relatively hard, and hard. Observation drawn from the above study was that treadmill came out with the greatest energy expenditure, then rowing and stairstepping ergometers came second, while the cycle and combined cycle/arm ergometers came last in terms of values derived (Deuster, 1997). Therefore, conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that if exercise intensity is established by perceived effort, then treadmill running or walking has the ability to result in greater energy expenditure and a stronger cardio-respiratory training stimulus for any given duration of exercise as compared to other exercise modalities (Zeni, Hoffman & Clifford, 1996a). In a related study by the same researchers, Zeni, Hoffman & Clifford (1996b), using the same six modes of exercise equipment, it was established that for any given rating of perceived exertion (RPE), the treadmill stimulates relatively higher heart rates (HRs) when compared to other modes such as stationary cycle and the rowing machine. On the other part, the cycling machine stimulates the lowest HR. With regard to blood lactate concentration, the study established existence of similar relationship between blood lactate concentration with RPE in all exercise machines, and only cross-country skiing simulator had different results (Zeni, Hoffman & Clifford, 1996b). Furthermore, Moyna et al. (2001) using similar parameters as those used by the earlier described researchers established that men, unlike women indicated higher levels of energy expenditure at each RPE on two exercise modes: treadmill and cross-country skiing simulator. On their part, women were found to have higher energy expenditure on three key modes: treadmill, skiing simulator and rowing machine. Similarly, study by Thomas et al. (1995) established that the consumption of oxygen tends to be highest during treadmill running, but less during other exercises using other modes. Discussion The conclusion of the study and subsequent observations made reveal that exercise at a given RPE resulted in substantial differences between the treadmill and rower modes with regard to rate of energy expenditure. From the results obtained it is clear that treadmill exercise mode stimulated higher rates of energy expenditure and aerobic demands than the rower exercise mode. Therefore, this indicates that if exercise intensity is established by perceived effort, treadmill, whether walking or running, has the ability to results in greatest level of energy expenditure and cardio-respiratory training stimulus during any given time or duration of exercise. The study conducted can be regarded to be one of the few studies that exist today in terms of comparing different exercise modes. Therefore, the study provides opportunity for thorough comparison to be made, which makes the process of choosing the exercise mode appropriate for exercise more easy due to availability of information concerning key features of the two exercise modes. Studies have been conducted in the past, and comparison of key features of multiple indoor aerobic exercise machines using RPE as the indicator of intensity established. Among the studies that have been done, some have established and examined the relationship that exists between metabolic demand and RPE, and the evidence these studies have generated indicate that the size of the exercising muscle mass has the ability to influence the relationship (Zeni et al., 1996b). The overall conclusion drawn from the studies is that the use of a large muscle mass seems to permit a greater metabolic demand for a given RPE than exercise with a smaller muscle mass (Krinski et al., 2012). But, even as muscle mass becomes the primary identified factor that determines the relationship between metabolic demand and RPE, it should be understood that muscle mass is not the only factor that determines this relationship that exist between metabolic demand and RPE. For instance, rowing machine engage a larger mass than walking or running on a treadmill, but aerobic demands were observed to be greater for treadmill when walking or running, and this clearly show that other factors, apart from the amount of exercising muscle mass, have ability to affect this relationship. As a result, factors that have direct relation with movement pattern of the exercise that include degree to which eccentric and isometric contractions are involved, incorporation of neural pathways for reciprocal innervations, and familiarity with the movement pattern, have ability to affect the relationship (Sandra et al., 2003). Moreover, lactate concentration as indicated in the study tends to appear as an important mediator of RPE during aerobic exercise. This is also another factor that has been investigated in the past by a number of researchers. Therefore, the study clearly demonstrates that relationship exist between lactate concentration and exercise modes: treadmill and row machine. Therefore, lactate concentration can be said not to be the only mediator of RPE between treadmill and row exercise machines. Furthermore, it has to be noted that the study largely concentrate on establishing factors that are inherently characterised by physiological cures, but it has to be known that there are other factors or cues apart from these ones that affect RPE. The identified other factors include environmental temperature and time of the day (Glass & Chvala, 2001). Findings from the study can further be said to indicate that exercise intensity is in most cases established by a subjective feeling about the level of exertion (Glass & Chvala, 2001). For instance, the results reflect that when exercise intensity is established by RPE, high chances are that metabolic demand is likely to vary considerably between the two exercises modes. For example, observation on individuals exercising on the treadmill at an RPE of about 14 (relatively hard) are likely to expend about 2950 kJ/h, which is about 700kcal/h (Zeni et al., 1996b). Furthermore, the same individuals would expend less than 700kcal/h when using the other mode; row machine. Hence, it can be said that energy expenditure is likely to be more or greater in the use of treadmill when walking or running as compared to row machine. When exercises activities are undertaken, it should be known that guidelines for enhancement of health and cardio-respiratory fitness should be in such a way that exercise intensity has to be in the range of 60 percent to 90 percent of maximal heart rate or 50 percent to 85 percent of maximal VO2 (Zeni et al., 1996b). These intensities correspond with an RPE range of about 12 to 16. Furthermore, exercising at RPE levels between 13 and 15 educe mean VO2 values that are within the limits that are recommended for intensity range, and this was established in the two exercise machines studied. Also, mean heart rates recorded were within the recommended intensity guidelines for the two exercise modes, although it has to be noted that the RPE at a given heart rate may vary between the modes within a range that is more than 2 points among the indoor aerobic exercises (Zeni et al., 1996b). Conclusion Therefore, putting together the different factors that have been studied in the experiment done, it can be stated that treadmill can be considered as the best cardio equipment, followed by row machine. The reason for this that cardio equipment with that uses more muscle mass, is weight-bearing, and exhibit low skill level, has ability to enable individuals exercising to expend more calories, hence benefit to their exercising activities (Karp, 2008). References Deuster, P. A. (1997). Navy Seal Physical Fitness Guide. New York: DIANE Publishing. Glass, S. C., & Chvala, A. M. (2001). Preferred Exertion across Three Common Modes of Exercise Training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 15(4): 474-479. Karp, J. R. (2008). Fitness-Research Update: Show Me the Treadmill. Retrieved 04 November, 2012, from Athletic Business: http://www.architecturalshowcase.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=3316&zoneid=42 Krinski, K., Elsangedy, H. M., Krause, M. P., Timossi, L. S., & Silva, S. G. (2012). Comparison of Energy Cost Between Genders During Treadmill Walking at a Self-selected Pace. Acta Scientiarum-Health Sciences, 34(2): 145-150. Moyna, N.M., Robertson, R. Meckes, C. L., Peoples, J. A., Millichand, N. B., & Thompson, P. D. (2001). Intermodal Comparison of Energy Expenditure at Exercise Intensities Corresponding to the Perceptual Preference Range. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33(8): 1404-1410. Sandra, H., Davies, P. S., Parker, T. W., & Bashford, J. (2003). Total Energy Expenditure and Body Composition Changes Following Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation and Participation in an Exercise Programme. Bone Marrow Transplantation, 31(5): 331-338. Thomas, T.R., Ziogas, G., Smith, T., Zhang, Q., & Londeree, B. R. (1995). Physiological and Perceived Exertion Responses to Six Modes of Submaximal Exercise. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 66(33): 239-246. Vathsangam, H., Emken, A., Schroeder, E. T., Spruijt-Metz, D., & Sukhatme, G. S. (2011). An Experimental Study in Determining Energy Expenditure from Treadmill Walking using Hip-Worn Inertial Sensors. IEEE Trans Biomedical Engineering, 58(10): 2804-2815. Zeni, A.I., Hoffman, M. D., & Clifford, P. S. (1996a). Energy Expenditure with Indoor Exercise Machines. Journal of the American Medical Association, 275(18): 1424-1427. Zeni, A.I., Hoffman, M. D., & Clifford, P. S. (1996b). Relationships among Heart Rate, Lactate Concentration and Perceived Effort for Different Types of Rhythmic Exercise in Women. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 77(3): 237-241. Read More