Journal of Sports Medicine & Doping Studies

Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare response; specifically oxygen consumption; of a single bout of exercise using two different (constant and interval) intensity protocols in an aged population.
Design: Ten males (68.8 ± 3.7 years) and six females (66.2 ± 3.5 years) were recruited for this study. All participants were actively involved in three hours of physical activity per week and were able to use a cycle ergometer unaided.
Methods: Participants completed two randomised 20 min exercise protocols on a cycle ergometer, each with equal work output. The constant intensity session was at 50% of Vo2max, and the 1 min interval session varied from 70% to 30% Vo2max. Oxygen consumption was measured during the following phases; resting, warm-up, exercise, cooldown and 20 mins post-exercise.
Results: Similar values were found when comparing the overall oxygen consumption for the constant and interval protocols respectively. However, significant differences (p<0.05) were found between the two different intensities during the exercise phase.
Conclusions: The interval training protocol consumed higher levels of oxygen during the exercise phase when compared to the constant intensity protocol, despite the participants reporting similar RPE. These age-specific differences should be considered for future exercise prescription for this at-risk population.

Several studies showed changes in motor control performance following whole-body vibrations. It is difficult to compare the results and conclusions from studies in the literature, because they often use different experimental protocols. We conducted a series of four studies with a similar protocol to investigate the acute effect of whole-body vibrations on balance control, accuracy of movement execution, and cognitive attention and concentration. We found an increase in balancing time for a one-leg standing task with closed eyes. Two subsequent studies revealed a better accuracy in motor performance for jumping onto a target and improved hand coordination during the task of aiming with a laser pointer onto a target. In the fourth study no acute changes in cognitive attention and concentration was found following whole-body vibrations. Therefore, it appears that motor control areas in the brain benefit from whole-body vibrations whereas more complex brain structures do not cause an increase in attention or cognitive performance