ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Athletes' physical prowess plays a crucial role in their ability to succeed in any sporting endeavor. Each athlete on the field must have an exceptional aerobic capacity to withstand fierce competition and stringent regulatory guidelines. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) is a quantitative measure of aerobic capacity and is regarded as one of the most reliable indicators of cardiorespiratory and overall physical fitness of an individual by sports physiologists. The study aims to evaluate the VO2 max of athletes in comparison with nonathletes during treadmill and lower limb cycle ergometry exercises as assessed in the Sports Physiology Laboratory of a rural medical college. Treadmill exercise and bicycle ergometer exercise are the most common to perform as indoor aerobic exercises to assess one's physical fitness. Both these tests are equally useful in eliciting cardiac and vascular responses, so both these modalities were used to assess aerobic fitness. METHODS: This cross-sectional study, which examined participants aged 17-25, included 30 athletes (cases) and 120 age- and sex-matched controls. The VO2 max was evaluated using the Metabolic Module of Lab Chart Software, which was investigated through the PowerLab data acquisition system, AD Instruments (Bella Vista, NSW, Australia). RESULTS: The mean age of male athletes was 20.51 ± 2.69 years and of female athletes was 20.53 ± 1.62 years. The mean and standard deviation of VO2 max on the treadmill for male cases was 52.37 ± 8.78 mL/kg/min and for female cases was 40.96 ± 4.06 mL/kg/min, and on a cycle ergometer for male cases was 45.21 ± 9.43 mL/kg/min and for female cases was 34.32 ± 5.12 mL/kg/min. For the control group, the mean age of control males was 21.2 ± 2.62 years and of control females was 20.36 ± 1.5 years. The mean and standard deviation of VO2 max on the treadmill for control males was 33.35 ± 3.77 mL/kg/min and for control females was 25.09 ± 7.07 mL/kg/min, and on the cycle ergometer for control males was 34.17 ± 2.75 mL/kg/min and for control females was 24.15 ± 5.35 mL/kg/min. CONCLUSION: This study showed significantly (p < 0.001) higher VO2 max levels in athletes of both genders compared to their age- and sex-matched controls upon exercise on the treadmill and cycle ergometer. This study underscores the significance of better cardiorespiratory fitness in athletes than nonathletes, giving pertinent insights about their aerobic capacity, which is precisely measured and expressed in terms of VO2.
ABSTRACT
Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) is becoming one of the most valuable tools for assessing a healthy heart's complex and constantly changing oscillations. This study was a pioneering attempt to establish normative data on HRV during treadmill exercise for monitoring the cardiovascular health of the central Indian population. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study in the Sports Physiology Laboratory of the Department of Physiology in a Rural Medical College in central India. One hundred and twenty healthy subjects in the age range 17-40 years were recruited. Short-term HRV (5 min) was extracted from ECG recordings obtained using the Power lab system, AD Instruments, Australia. Results: Time domain indices for males were - Standard deviation of N-N interval (SDNN): 162.61±162.11; Square root of mean squared difference of N-N intervals (RMSSD): 355.79±798.27; the percentage of adjacent NN intervals that differ from each other by more than 50 ms (pNN50): 23.10±27.87. Frequency domain indices in males were- LF power (%)- 535.74±3625.96; HF power (%) - 33.15±24.31, LF nu: 33.12± 16.06; HF nu: 57.22±14.89; LF/HF:0.77±0.74. Time-domain indices for females were SDNN as168.49±130.09; RMSSD: 182.41±154.85; pNN50:32.33±26.59. Frequency domain indices in females were LF power (%)-19.85±6.13; HF power (%) 43.03±16.39, LF nu-30.53±9.88; HF nu -60.95±8.70; LF/HF:0.54±0.27. Conclusion: Baseline normative values for HRV spectral and time-domain analysis have been established for their clinical use in comparing the HRV of a healthy individual to that of a deceased individual or an athlete.
