American Council on Exercise’s Study Investigates the ElliptiGO

A recent study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) aimed to evalulate the ElliptiGO—a bicycle and elliptical hybrid—to determine its effectiveness in a workout and how it measures up to fitness industry guidelines for improving cardio respiratory fitness and body composition.

The ElliptiGO is built to enable stand-up motion like an elliptical, but it is steered and pedaled forward like a bicycle, a release from ACE explains. The bicycle/elliptical hybrid is available in four models providing a variety of speed options and resistance levels, and it adjust to the rider’s height. It is designed to be ridden outdoors on a variety of terrains.

ACE Chief Science Officer Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, notes that based upon reports the organization had heard about the ElliptiGO, they “wanted to examine if it provides an effective dose of exercise without the high-impact on the joints associated with other outdoor options like jogging or running,” he explains in the release.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse performed the study, in which 16 healthy female and male volunteers between the ages of 18 and 45 participated in three 15- to 20-minute practice sessions on the ElliptiGO before completing a graded maximal exercise test on a treadmill and a 30-minute exercise session on the ElliptiGO, per the release.

During the graded exercise test, the release continues, the researchers measured the participants’ expired air and metabolic responses and recorded each participant’s ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) at the end of each stage of the test.

During the 30-minute exercise session, which was only conducted after the researchers deemed the participant proficient on the ElliptiGO, the researchers recorded each participant’s heart rate and oxygen consumption each minute as the subjects exercised at a self-selected pace; they also recorded the session’s RPE, the release explains.

After analyzing the exercise data from the participants, ACE’s researchers determined that the participants exercised at an average of 84% of heart rate maximum (HRmax) and 75% of maximum oxygen consumption (VO₂max) during their 30-minute exercise sessions, per the release.

These findings reportedly demonstrate that exercising at a self-selected intensity on the ElliptiGO for 30 minutes meets fitness industry guidelines for both accounts, which suggest that healthy adults should work out between approximately 60% and 90% of HRmax or 40% and 85% of VO₂max to maintain and/or improve cardio respiratory fitness, the release explains.

Bryant recommends in the release that the ElliptiGO should be treated like a bicycle, and that riders should adhere to traffic laws and wear a helmet at all times.

[Source(s): American Council on Exercise, BusinessWire]