The Effects of Motorized vs. Non-Motorized Treadmill on Voluntary Oxygen Consumption, Heart Rate and Rate of Perceived Exertion in Collegiate Cross-Country Females

Event Center BC

PURPOSE: Recently, there has been an introduction of non-motorized treadmills (NMT) in athlete training settings, however there are few studies examining the training benefits of non-motorized treadmills. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to compare the effects of a motorized treadmill (MT) versus a NMT on the volume of oxygen consumption (VO2), heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE). METHODS: Eight female cross-country Division II athletes participated in 3 testing days, consisting of one familiarization, and two testing days. Speed was recorded each minute for walk and jog trial during familiarization, then averaged for testing trials speed. Paired sample t-tests were used to analyze the difference in means between NMT and MT during steady state in walking and running for VO2, HR, and RPE. RESULTS: There was significant differences for both walking (p< 0.001) and running (p=0.003), where NMT VO2 was significantly greater than MT. There were significant differences for both walking (p< 0.001) and running (p< 0.001) for HR with being greater than MT. There were also significant differences for both walking (p=0.001) and running (p=0.001) RPE with NMT being greater. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that VO2 consumption, HR, and RPE are higher when walking and jogging on the NMT. The increased VO2 and HR are physiological markers of increased workload, while the increased RPE shows the participant’s perceived intensity was higher on the NMT. It is likely that the curve of the NMT influences users to forefoot strike, activating more muscles and potentially improving running form.