The effects of vibration on efficiency in off-road cyclists

Tolga Aksit; Arzu On; Gorkem Aybars Balci; Ozgur Ozkaya

doi:10.5606/tftrd.2021.5344

The effects of vibration on efficiency in off-road cyclists

Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2021 Mar 4;67(1):69-76. doi: 10.5606/tftrd.2021.5344. eCollection 2021 Mar.

Authors

Tolga Aksit¹, Arzu On², Gorkem Aybars Balci¹, Ozgur Ozkaya¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Coaching Education, Ege University, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Izmir, Turkey.
² Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether vibration significantly affected the efficiency of off-road cyclists.

Patients and methods: Eight male mountain cyclists (mean age 21.1±1 years; range, 19 to 22 years) between August 2017 and November 2017 were included. The experimental protocol included four testing sessions with a one-day interval between testing sessions: a familiarization session; performance of submaximal tests; performance of maximal graded exercise test; and a 30-min mountain bike trial performed with vibration or without vibration. Physiological measures including volume of oxygen uptake (VO₂), volume of ₂), VO₂, VCO₂, heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, rating of perceived exertion, and gross efficiency (GE) were compared between the trials performed with vibration or without vibration.

Results: There was a significant increase in the GE with the addition of intermittent vibration, particularly over the last 15 min of the cycling trial (p<0.05). There were no significant effects of vibration on other parameters.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that addition of intermittent vibration may provide positive benefits in improving GE during a 30-min submaximal cycling trial.

Keywords: Gross efficiency; mountain biking; oxygen uptake; performance; vibration.