Increased Volume Resistance Training: Effects upon Predicted Aerobic Fitness in a Select Group of Air Force Men

• Published in: ACSM's health & fitness journal 2004-07, Vol.8 (4), p.16-21
• Main Authors: O'Hara, Reginald B., Schlub, James F., Siejack, Theresa R., Pohlman, Roberta L., Laubach, Lloyd
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1091-5397
• DOI: 10.1097/00135124-200407000-00006

Fitness trainers and exercise physiologists routinely use submaximal cycle ergometry tests to evaluate a participant's initial cardiovascular (CV) fitness and to determine gains after a training program. Submaximal testing is universally used to measure the results of an aerobic training program. However, the role of increased resistance training upon submaximally predicted aerobic capacity is not well documented in the scientific literature. What would happen to a participant's predicted aerobic capacity if he or she substituted a portion of standard aerobic training load with an increased volume of resistance training of the leg musculature? Will a concentrated leg strengthening and reduced aerobic training routine be superior in increasing aerobic fitness when compared with the standard prescribed aerobic routine in some select participants? To date, these questions remain unanswered. In 1991, the United States Air Force (USAF) replaced the maximal-voluntary-effort 1.5-mile run field test with a single stage submaximal cycle ergometry test. Predicted aerobic capacity measured on a cycle ergometer is calculated based upon the participant's submaximal exercise heart rate response to a known workload. Other factors such as anxiety, stress, caffeine, smoking, sleep deprivation, certain medications, and illness also may contribute to fitness scores, but their effects are generally minimized based upon advice from a knowledgeable, well-trained test administrator.