Comparisons of the airborne shuffle to standard walking while torso loaded.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the airborne shuffle on oxygen cost (O2 cost), heart rate (HR), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and stride length (SL) when compared with standard walking at 3 speeds (2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 mph) while torso loading. Twenty U.S. Army Reserve Officers' Training Course cadets (N = 20; age: 22 ± 3 years; height: 1.78 ± 0.08 m; body mass: 79.3 ± 10.7) participated in this study. At all speeds, the airborne shuffle had significantly higher O2 cost (p < 0.001), HR (p < 0.001), and RER (p < 0.001), and significantly shorter SL (p < 0.001) than walking. These findings suggest that using the airborne shuffle while torso loading is less economical and more likely to promote fatigue than walking. Therefore, the airborne shuffle is more likely to decrease performance on long marches than walking.