The effects of separate and simultaneous upper and lower body cycling on cardiorespiratory responses in young men.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Randomized/counterbalanced crossover trial
PubMed 37902804 · doi:10.23736/S0022-4707.23.15306-0
What was done
Eight healthy males aged 19 to 30 completed three exercise sessions in a counterbalanced crossover design over seven days. Sessions consisted of graded leg-only ergometry, arm-only ergometry, and simultaneous arm and leg ergometry across workloads of 0, 32, 64, and 95 W. In the combined session, workloads were applied to both upper and lower body simultaneously, producing double the total power output of single-modality sessions. Cardiorespiratory responses (oxygen consumption, minute ventilation, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, rate pressure product) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured.
What was found
The abstract reports directional comparisons without reporting exact numerical values. Oxygen consumption and minute ventilation were greater during combined arm and leg exercise than during arm-only or leg-only exercise across all workloads. Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, rate pressure product, and RPE showed similar patterns of change between arm-only and combined exercise despite the doubled workload in the combined session. Leg-only exercise produced significantly lower cardiovascular and perceptual responses than the other two conditions.
Why it matters
Combining upper- and lower-body cycling increases total metabolic demand while maintaining cardiovascular strain and perceived exertion comparable to arm-only exercise at moderate to high workloads.
Limits
The sample size is very small (n = 8) and limited exclusively to young, healthy males. The abstract does not report specific numerical values, confidence intervals, or variance. Chronic training adaptations were not evaluated.
Cited by
- supports Adding upper-body exercise to lower-body exercise increases overall activity or energy expenditure by approximately 30%.