Upper extremity loading, muscle activity and cardiorespiratory parameters in Tube Walking.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize Tube Walking（TW） by comparing the changes in load of poling and pulling elastic band （Tube）, energy expenditure, and local muscle activity exerted by TW with Nordic Walking（NW） and to gain new insights into the practice of TW. Six male subjects who are skilled Nordic walkers and regularly exercise in their daily lives voluntarily participated in this study. The experiment was conducted on a treadmill at six different speeds（ 50, 60, 70, 90, 110, and 130 m/min） to compare load and muscle activity envelopes, peak load, muscle discharge, and respiratory circulation parameters during one cycle of walking. Results showed that peak load values were higher in NW than in TW, and load increased with increasing speed only in NW, but energy expenditure and local muscle activity were not significantly different between NW and TW. 　It was concluded that TW is an exercise that induces sustained force exertion by performing an arm swing movement with an extended stroke in the NW gait, and that the load is reduced to less than 50% of NW while having the same muscle discharge and energy expenditure as NW.