Sports Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Incline And Resistance On Metabolic Cost And Muscle Activation In Elliptical Exercise, Megan K. Alfi

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Elliptical trainers are machines that were designed to mimic the motion of running while reducing the ground reaction forces and joint loading on the lower body. As a result, endurance runners commonly use it as a cross-training modality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ramp incline and resistance in elliptical exercise on metabolic cost and lower limb muscle activation patterns. A secondary purpose was to compare the metabolic cost and muscle activation patterns of elliptical exercise to running. Methods: Gross metabolic cost and muscle activation for eight muscles of the leg were measured during elliptical …