Date of Award

8-1-1994

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biomedical Sciences

Abstract

The adaptive physiological responses resulting from exercise training appear to be influenced by the specific character of the training program, type of exercise, and protocol employed to evaluate change. The effect of a unique six week anaerobic training program utilizing a skating treadmill was investigated. The anaerobic training program involved intermittent high intensity exercise bouts, each 4-90 seconds in duration at various treadmill speeds and elevations. The skating treadmill was designed specifically to enhance anaerobic metabolic pathways and anaerobic performance of hockey players by allowing the athlete to skate indoors on a rotating polyurethane surface that has the same friction coefficient as artificial ice. Analysis of whole blood metabolites before and after a Wingate Test protocol administered two days prior to subjects beginning the training program, two days following the ninth training session, and two days following the eighteenth training session indicated that the athlete's anaerobic metabolic pathways were enhanced. Significant decreases in lactate and creatine kinase occurred (p < 0.005), while no significant decreases in lactate dehydrogenase activity were apparent. Relative mean anaerobic power and relative peak anaerobic power showed numerical increase during the training program but were not statistically significant (p > 0.05) which may have been due to a low number of subjects. From these findings the adaptive metabolic responses to anaerobic training appear to be exercise specific. In addition, these results suggest that the skating treadmill can be a useful anaerobic training device.

Share

COinS