Key result
A continuous incremental exercise test generated higher cardiorespiratory and muscular workloads than a discontinuous test with randomized workloads, but did not significantly influence ratings of perceived exertion or estimated time limits.
Why the study?
Does a continuous incremental exercise test compared to a discontinuous randomized test affect ratings of perceived exertion and estimated time limits in cyclists?
RCT (n=27)
Randomized workloads
Does a continuous incremental exercise test compared to a discontinuous randomized test affect ratings of perceived exertion and estimated time limits in cyclists?
Higher cardiorespiratory and muscular workloads generated by an incremental exercise test do not influence perceptual responses compared to a randomized workload test in cyclists.
Perceptual responses unchanged despite higher workloads; hypothesis-generating for protocol selection in cyclists.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a succession of fatiguing stages, on ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and estimated time limits (ETL) during an incremental exercise test. Twenty-seven cyclists performed a continuous incremental test and a discontinuous test with randomized workloads. A linear mixed model was used to compare the RPE, ETL, respiratory gas, heart rate, and blood data obtained during the two exercise tests. RPE and ETL were not significantly different between the tests. Ventilation, breathing frequency, heart rate, and blood lactate concentration were significantly higher during the last incremental test workloads. In conclusion, although the incremental exercise test generated higher cardiorespiratory and muscular workloads than observed during the randomized exercise test, most likely due to a greater fatiguing process, these higher workloads did not influence the perceptual response.
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Coquart et al. (2008) conducted an RCT in Healthy cyclists (n=27). Continuous incremental exercise test vs. Discontinuous test with randomized workloads was evaluated on Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and estimated time limits (ETL). A continuous incremental exercise test generated higher cardiorespiratory and muscular workloads than a discontinuous test with randomized workloads, but did not significantly influence ratings of perceived exertion or estimated time limits.
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