Emphasizing one leg facilitates single-leg training using standard cycling equipment.
Scand J Med Sci Sports
; 30(6): 1017-1023, 2020 Jun.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32077131
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Single-leg cycling exercise is one of the most potent, but underutilized, stimuli for promoting peripheral muscle respiratory capacity. Special ergometers used to facilitate single-leg cycling, while maintaining biomechanics similar to double-leg cycling, are not widely available. This lack of availability of specialized ergometers may explain why single-leg cycling has not been widely implemented as standard clinical practice. Therefore, we explored the extent to which participants could emphasize one leg and de-emphasize the other to perform "single-leg emphasis cycling" using standard cycle ergometers.METHODS:
Sixteen athletic participants performed single-leg emphasis cycling, emphasizing each leg in separate trials, and double-leg cycling. Pedal forces and limb kinematics were collected and used to calculate joint-specific work and power at the ankle, knee, and hip.RESULTS:
Study participants were able to produce approximately three times as much power with their emphasized leg compared to the de-emphasized leg during single-leg emphasis cycling. Ankle plantar flexion, dorsiflexion, knee extension, and hip extension work produced during single-leg emphasis cycling did not differ from those during double-leg cycling (all P > .60). Hip and knee flexion work during single-leg emphasis cycling exhibited small but significant differences (both P < .05) from double-leg cycling.CONCLUSIONS:
These results demonstrate that single-leg emphasis cycling provides a convenient alternative to single-leg cycling requiring specialized ergometers, therefore, facilitating improved training in clinical and athletic populations using commonly available equipment. Further, biomechanics during single-leg emphasis cycling closely approximated double-leg cycling ensuring that training adaptations are highly applicable to double-leg cycling.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ciclismo
/
Ergometria
/
Atletas
/
Perna (Membro)
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
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Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Scand J Med Sci Sports
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA ESPORTIVA
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos
País de publicação:
DENMARK
/
DINAMARCA
/
DK