Comparison of energy expenditure between footbag and elliptical cross trainer

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2017

Type of Work

Department

Health and Sports Sciences

Program

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

Abstract

More than 60% of adult Americans do not engage in the recommended minimum amount of exercise, with-40% of young adults (18-24 yr) also not achieving recommendations. Previous research has shown that adults can achieve recommended activity levels by playing children's games, and soccer activities have recently been shown to elicit similar energy costs compared to running. Including recreational game activities in conjunction with a traditional aerobic exercise regimen may help individuals accumulate exercise above the minimum recommended amounts to help achieve weight-management goals. However, more research is needed to help us better understand if energy expenditure from other game activities is similar to traditional aerobic exercise. Therefore, we compared energy expenditure during and after 'footbag freestyle' game-play (FOOTBAG) versus aerobic exercise on an elliptical cross trainer (AEROBIC). Twelve men (21.1 ± 1.2 yr) performed a maximal graded exercise test on an elliptical cross-trainer to determine V02max. After baseline and familiarization sessions, subjects performed three experimental protocols, once per week, randomly assigned in a counterbalanced order including 30 min of FOOTBAG, AEROBIC, and a no-exercise control trial (CTRL). Expired air was collected continuously before (15 min), during (30 min), and for 30min after each protocol using a metabolic cart. Data were analyzed using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA with Fisher's Least Significant Difference (LSD) post hoc analyses. Significant differences (p<0.05) among the average rates of energy expenditure (kcal·min-1 included FOOTBAG and AEROBIC > CTRL from 0-10, 11-20, and 21-30min of activity, as well as +5min after exercise. No significant differences in the rates of energy expenditure among groups were observed at rest, nor after +10, +15 and +30min of recovery. Total energy expenditure (kcal) was significantly greater (p<0.05) during AEROBIC (199.5±33.2) and HACKY (196.3±40.8) compared to CTRL (40.4±3.8). Total energy expenditure was not significantly different between FOOTBAG and AEROBIC. In summary, energy expenditure was similar between FOOTBAG and AEROBIC, suggesting that game activities can elicit similar moderate-intensity metabolic responses (almost 5 METS) compared to popular aerobic exercise modes in young adults. Therefore, game activities like 'footbag freestyle' can be included in addition to regularly planned aerobic exercise to help meet, or even exceed minimum activity recommendations.